


Gravity

by nh8343



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Adventure, Aliens, M/M, brief descriptions of injuries/blood, everyone gets character development, oh my!, space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2019-10-17 15:58:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 50,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17563568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nh8343/pseuds/nh8343
Summary: “It’s kind of amazing, isn’t it?” Taeyong remarks. “How far we’ve come, how much we’ve done to get here. This moment was born from hundreds of tiny choices, all of which could have led to hundreds of different outcomes. And somehow, out of all of those, we were meant to end up here.”Taeyong and crew default on a loan to the most powerful criminal in the galaxy, leaving the vastness of space as their only safe haven. But even out here, it might already be too late to hide.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’m alive, and finally back with more NCT! This took much much longer to write than I’d like to admit, but it did turn out to be a whopping 50k. I’ll be posting chapters once a week, so look out for more updates soon. Hope you enjoy!

 

 

 

It's when he's kneeling apologetically in the middle of a cargo ship’s crudely-made throne room, stripped of his weapons and fearing for his life, that Taeyong starts to question his life choices.

 

On his right, Jaehyun is hiding his own fear with a practiced mask of unconcern, though the sweat beading up on his hairline suggests otherwise. On his left, Yuta doesn't look any better, fingers twisting together until the skin goes white.  And in front of him, sitting atop the gaudy golden throne, is a very, very angry K'Gag Zadra-Seevo.

 

"You will pay each and every credit you owe me today," the crime lord demands, "or I'll have your heads staked and hung outside the doors. Do I make myself clear?"

 

Okay, so maybe this is partly Taeyong's fault. The three of them don't always have the most honest of business practices, leaving borrowing money from this particular crime lord as their only option. A year should have been plenty of time to come up with the borrowed sum, but things hadn't gone as planned, and now they've made one late payment too many. It was never someone's lucky day to be called to a meeting by an Ir'uq, especially by this one particular insult to the species. Taeyong had already dreaded seeing Zadra's face again. This forced submission was just icing on the cake.

 

"We would if we could," Yuta says, "but we still don't have a way to come up with the money."

 

"And I'm sure you used it all for your investment," Zadra fumes, "and didn't blow it all on women and booze. Do I look like I was born yesterday?"

 

"If you could just give us more time━" Jaehyun starts.

 

"More time? More time!? Do you three really think you can walk away with my credits for free? The amount of disrespect you've shown me!"

 

This isn’t the first time Taeyong wishes he didn't have the universal translator implanted beneath his skin. He exchanges a look with Jaehyun midway through Zadra’s rant, seeing a shared thought echoed in the other's expression. Yuta may have been with them for many years, but Jaehyun has been Taeyong's closest friend long enough that they can read each other like a book. And right now, they're both thinking the same thing: it's time to run.

 

"━possibly think the Ir'uq will bow to you humans' whims is beyond me! I'll string you up, I'll drag you through the streets until you beg for death, I'll burn what’s left of━!"

 

Taeyong holds three fingers behind his back where only Jaehyun can see. The other man inclines his head ever so slightly in acknowledgement, and Taeyong's fingers slowly go down. 2...1...

 

With one quick movement, Taeyong yanks Yuta by the back of his shirt to pull him along, and the three of them turn tail to sprint out of the ship.

 

Only the element of surprise allows them to make it out of the throne room alive, gone before the angry yells and heavy footfalls behind them can escalate into anything more. The main doors to the ship slam closed inches behind their backs. But their escape is still far from over; Taeyong catches sight of guards on speeders beginning to give chase. There's no way they're losing their pursuers on foot.

 

"How do you feel about shipjacking?" Jaehyun asks, gesturing to the residential area their escape route is coming up on.

 

It's not Taeyong's first choice of a plan. Or second, for that matter. But he's also very attached to the idea of not spending the rest of his life in one of Zadra's dungeons.

 

"Hey, Yuta, how confident do you feel about hacking into a speeder?"

 

"You do realize I'm a really subpar fill-in for a hacker, right?" He still concedes with a grumbled, "I can try."

 

"Good. Because I think this is the only chance we get."

 

The next parked speeder they come upon, Yuta gets to it. The other two keep watch as he pries open a panel and separates out wires, swearing when an angry beeping sound comes from within the ship. Taeyong’s whole body starts to tense at the thought of their pursuit gaining ground. But in the end, it works: the door slides open, they pile in, Taeyong sends an apologetic thought out to the homeowner they've stolen from. And Yuta slams on the accelerator.

 

"So, what's the plan?" Jaehyun asks from where he's crammed in next to Taeyong. "Get off Verimund and regroup? Go into hiding in one of the outer systems?"

 

Taeyong grimaces at the question. "Considering what we know about Zadra's favorite methods, it's only safe for us to disappear if we're not leaving behind any leverage. And who's the one person we know who'd still be planetside if we managed to get away?"

 

"Fuck. Taeil," Yuta says loudly from the driver's seat.

 

"Exactly. I'll call him now; head back toward his house and go as fast as you can without getting pulled over."'

 

Yuta focuses back on the road, and Taeyong reaches for the burner phone in his pocket. It's not as secure as the commlink snapped around his wrist, but Taeil won't be tuned into the same frequency. This will have to do.

 

The phone only gives half a ring before a familiar voice picks up, asking, " _Hello? Taeyong?_ "

 

"Hey, I don't have a lot of time to explain, but you're in danger. Grab anything essential so Jaehyun, Yuta, and I can come and get you off-planet."

 

" _Off-planet?_ " To his credit, Taeil takes only seconds to piece it together. " _Taeyong, if this has to do with the money you borrowed last year, when you didn't tell me where it was from until I invested in you..._ "

 

Taeyong can physically feel his voice turn sheepish. "Listen, you can yell at all of us later. This was _supposed_ to be a neutral meeting on a neutral planet, and things weren’t supposed to get so out of control. But right now we just want to keep you safe."

 

An audible sigh comes from the other end of the line. A few bursts of fuzzy static follow, interference from the phone being jostled. But instead of the telltale whine of a dropped call, Taeil's voice comes back only a short minute later, sounding a few degrees more agreeable.

 

" _I've got a few essentials together. For better or worse, I still trust you three. Knowing someone for too long will do that to a person_."

 

"Good," Taeyong tells him as he takes a look out the window, "because we're here. Jump in the front seat next to Yuta."

 

Taeil doesn't have to say a word when he gets in. He only has to give the group a pointed glare, setting his bag carefully in his lap, and they all feel sufficiently shamed.

 

Silence falls over them for the rest of the ride, until Yuta breaks it with a meek, "Umm, so...anyone want to tell me where exactly I should be going? That pilot we hitched a ride here with will have sold us out by now, and I think we all know there’s no credits for a new ship."

 

Taeil groans between the hands covering his face, shoulders seeming to collapse in on themselves. "You mean to tell me..." he asks incredulously, "that you came to rescue me without a plan for actually getting away?"

 

"We know what we're doing," Taeyong reassures him, only half-lying. "Yuta, head toward the nearest spaceport. We can steal a ship from there before Zadra's alert hits the entire planet."

 

"Steal a ship," Taeil echoes in a disbelieving whisper.

 

"I think you broke him," Jaehyun whispers in Taeyong's ear, the latter not entirely sure he's joking. As things stand, it only makes him feel worse about their tenuous plan than he already does.

 

The spaceport takes them only a few minutes of questionable top speeds to reach. Yuta parks their stolen speeder in a lot that’s within walking distance of a less busy entrance, and they approach on foot. Avoiding the crowds and sticking to the shadows keeps them under the radar as they scope out a vulnerable target. Yuta is the one to point out a mid-sized ship on the fringes.

 

"The interim ramp means they just finished repairs," Yuta murmurs under the sound of the crowd. "Before the owner comes to do a final inspection, we might be able to slip inside and override security."

 

It's the best shot they seem to have, from what Taeyong can see. They wait in the vicinity of the ship for the maintenance crew to disperse before making a break for the ramp. It goes surprisingly according to plan before the sliding door hisses open and one trailing member of the crew comes face-to-face with them.

 

"Hey━!" he starts, but whatever accusation he's about to make is cut off by Jaehyun's well-placed chop to the side of his neck. The man crumbles to the ground, unconscious, leaving the rest of the crew staring.

 

Taeyong breaks the silence to ask, "Since when did you learn that?"

 

"Since I was your best crew member," Jaehyun says with a grin, patting the other man's shoulder in jest as he heads toward the cockpit.

 

He isn't wrong.

 

Yuta drags the unconscious mechanic safely back onto the landing pad, and Taeil settles into the cockpit, the best pilot among their ragtag crew. After some quick work to get past any remaining security measures, the ship is prepped and ready for takeoff. Taeyong has never been more glad to make a jump into hyperspace.

 

Verimund, and their brush with death, fades into a spark that disappears entirely.

 

☾

 

When they're at a safe enough distance from imminent death or arrest for Taeil to feel comfortable enough putting the ship into autopilot, he turns on the rest of the crew.

 

"Now that we have time to breathe," he demands, "tell me exactly what you've done and why we're running."

 

The glances that pass between the other three are rather shifty ones, each trying to shirk the duty of explaining off to the next. Yuta finally concedes with one last dirty look thrown at both of them.

 

"So, I'm sure you remember how we borrowed a lot from...a questionable source last year," he says. "We might have overestimated the return on our investments, and now we're in deep debt to Zadra without the money to pay it off."

 

"He overlooked it up until when he called us in for a chat today," Jaehyun tacks on. "Now he seems more intent on killing us, instead."

 

"Which is why we grabbed you, because guilt by association might be enough to kill you, too," Taeyong finishes.

 

Whatever exasperation was on Taeil's face before shifts into resignation, body sinking down into the seat as he drags his hands down his face.

 

"So, what do we need to do?" he finally asks. Taeyong feels himself relax ever so slightly at the tone of the other's voice, even if it's still an unwilling sort of acceptance.

 

"Right." Taeyong turns so he's addressing everyone, not just Taeil. "We need to find either how to pay back the money or some other way out of this mess. And it's hard to say who Zadra has already paid off to turn us in. Anyone could be in his pocket."

 

Taeil thinks for a minute, massaging his temples. "I know there's a certain group of pirates who might be able to help us," he wearily suggests. "Zadra does have eyes everywhere, but these pirates aren't the type to take his bribes."

 

"Sure," Yuta says sarcastically, "we're being hunted by a dangerous crime lord, so let's go to the pirates. Brilliant."

 

Jaehyun elbows him pointedly in the ribs. "He does have a point, you know. If we're being chased by one of the most dangerous people alive, we should make sure we're on the good side of someone just as dangerous."

 

"I wouldn't exactly call them 'dangerous' in the same sense," Taeil admits, "But I know their leader, and I know they can be trusted. We'll be safe."

 

Taeyong wonders at the silence that comes over the group before he realizes they're looking to him for an answer, falling back on that unofficial Captain title when the way ahead seems treacherous.

 

"Let's do it," he agrees. "I trust Taeil's judgement."

 

Either because they trust Taeyong's judgment in turn, or because they have no better options, the others agree.

 

☾

 

Taeil doesn't waste any time. He contacts the pirate’s captain, Youngho, who’s quick to send back coordinates in a neighboring system where they can meet.

 

There's a large ship orbiting a path around the coordinates when they arrive. They manage to dock their two ships together without an accidental crash, and two of Youngho's crew come across the connecting tube to escort them over. Jaemin and Jeno, as they introduce themselves, look far too young to be on any sort of crew, but Taeyong supposes he was up to no good at a young age, too. He can only hope Youngho is careful enough to keep them safe.

 

Youngho meets them on the bridge. He looks the part of a pirate, though there's a warmth in his expression that throws Taeyong off. Youngho's eyes light up when he sees Taeil, and for a moment it almost seems like he's going to embrace the other man before he thinks better of it.

 

"Have you been doing well?" Youngho finally settles on asking, an awkward stiffness to his posture.

 

"If I was, would I be here?"

 

It's a sarcastic reply, but if Youngho's small smile is any indication, the two are still on good terms. It doesn't take much in the way of talking for Youngho to sympathize with their situation.

 

"I can help you," he agrees. "I'll fill your reserves with as much fuel as we can spare, and I'll give you the location of a mercenary you should hire for protection...in exchange for a favor: your crew acquires a key for me on the same planet we'll set course for next. I can't afford to give free help without being able to replenish our resources. You do it without getting caught, and I can give you a small cut of our earnings each week for supplies until you're back on your feet."

 

The deal is a fairer one than Taeyong was expecting. In his experience, pirates are more keen on taking without asking rather than bargaining.

 

When he accepts the terms, Youngho smiles, much less intimidating now that they're on the same side. "Once we detach, follow behind me to the coordinates I'll send your ship." he says. "There's a safe zone on a planet in this system; you don't have to worry about walking into any sort of trap while you're there under my protection."

 

In a way, it's nice for someone else to take the lead for once. That's not to say that Taeyong doesn't enjoy controlling his own destiny, leading his makeshift crew, but it's been hard to not feel like everything is spinning rapidly out of his control. Youngho's plan is a reminder that there's still a way forward.

 

There might be hope for them after all.

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the nice comments! I was getting posting anxiety after taking so long to write, so I really appreciate them :)

 

 

 

Considering that stealing the warehouse key was Youngho's only condition for aid, the actual theft turns out to be rather anticlimactic. Taeyong and Yuta run interference with the owner while Jaehyun nicks the key from her unsuspecting assistant, pocketing it with a triumphant grin. Taeil had been sent the name of a tavern ━ The Mocking Maestro ━ and now the four of them await Youngho's arrival at a table in the shadows.

 

Youngho arrives flanked by Jeno and Jaemin, who make themselves comfortable over by the bar (and, Taeyong assumes, start to keep watch). The pirate leader himself pulls up a chair to sit with Taeyong's crew.

 

"Is this really a safe place for all of us to be meeting?" Taeyong asks him, gesturing toward the slew of inebriated patrons.

 

"I know the barkeep," Youngho assures the group. "Dongyoung and I have been friends a long time. He lets the tavern be a safe haven for us pirates, and in exchange we give him a cut of everything we earn. Now, about that key?"

 

Yuta pulls said key out of his pocket and presses it into Youngho's hand, who takes it with a grateful smile.

 

"I appreciate it. And as it so happens, the mercenary I’ll vouch for you to hire is here in this very establishment."

 

"Are you sure it's necessary for us to even be hiring a mercenary?" Taeil asks rather skeptically.

 

The smile fades from Youngho's face, turning deadly serious. "I'll be frank with you," he says. "You all are in serious danger if Zadra really plans on coming after you. We don't have the time or resources to protect you ourselves, so this mercenary is the next best option. He can be trusted. That being said..." He frowns apologetically. "It's going to cost you."

 

The named price makes Taeyong wince. He'd expected something out of their budget, but this seems like a premium. "Could we have a few minutes to ourselves?" he asks.

 

Youngho obliges with a nod, sliding out of his chair to go talk with Jeno and Jaemin by the bar.

 

"Well, we clearly don't have money," Jaehyun says once the pirate captain is out of earshot, blunt as ever.

 

"And are you sure we can even trust this guy?" Yuta questions.

 

Taeil has that look on his face when he knows what he needs to say but isn't going to enjoy actually saying it. Taeyong feels like he shouldn't know that look so well, but it comes with the territory.

 

"Like I said before, I trust Youngho and his judgement. Back before I knew all of you, I was in a bad place. He pulled me out of it, and I saw for years how he thinks, how he operates. He has a good heart."

 

It's a nice sentiment, at least. But it doesn't change the fact that they have almost no credits to their name and no clear plan for getting more. One look around the booth affirms that everyone is acutely aware of this fact.

 

When Yuta speaks up next, he's hesitant. "I could always...do you remember what happened back on Nachanka?"

 

"No, not an option," Taeyong immediately shuts him down.

 

"But it wouldn't be the first time━"

 

"Exactly," Jaehyun interjects. "We remember what happened last time, which is why it isn't an option."

 

A list of increasingly desperate options begins to form from the crew's suggestions, finally put to an end when Jeno makes a reappearance at the end of their booth.

 

"The captain already left," the young pirate tells them, "but he had us pay for the mercenary's contract. It's a gift, no favor required."

 

Taeil is on the brink of protest, half-rising out of his seat, but Jeno retreats before he can get a word in. "The mercenary will meet you by the ships," Jeno throws back over his shoulder before vanishing out the door.

 

Taeyong and the rest of the crew are left in shocked silence, appreciating the gift but realizing this is it ━ the moment their safety net drops them into the current and leaves them to sink or swim. They get up from their booth in silent agreement, following the path Jeno had taken back out the exit.

 

Their journey isn't far. The pirates' ship is grounded right beside the crew's stolen one, tucked away in a secluded area of the port that Taeyong is sure is reserved for guests of Youngho's same infamy. Youngho himself looks to be doing final inspections, but the crew's attention is focused on the young boy with four different guns strapped across his waist and back. _This_ is who Youngho had paid such a steep price to hire?

 

"The name's Donghyuck," the boy introduces himself with a firm handshake. "Yes, I’m probably younger than you were expecting. No, that doesn't make me any less capable of bashing whatever heads you need me to bash."

 

If nothing else, the kid has spunk. Taeyong will give him that.

 

But after he's given Donghyuck his own name in return, and Yuta starts to probe the young mercenary with questions that are probably a bit too personal, Taeyong finds his attention drifting. His gaze lands up near the pirates' ship where Taeil has broken away to have one last conversation with Youngho.

 

Hearing the exact words of the exchange is impossible from this distance, but the loaded space between them, that imploring look on Youngho's face, the wistful one on Taeil's own as he keeps taking glances at the ship...Taeyong can guess. And he can tell that the final words that leave Taeil's lips before he turns away are a goodbye.

 

Youngho is the last of the pirates to board. They take off just as Taeil makes it back to the group, standing at the edge of the conversation. Taeyong doesn't say anything, doesn't draw any unwanted attention, but he does briefly lay a hand on the other man's shoulder to let him know he's not alone. The hint of a smile he gets in return is enough.

 

"You ready to leave?" Jaehyun asks.

 

Even though Taeyong thinks the question is meant for him alone, it's answered with a chorus of agreement from the others. He's glad his own answer was going to be an affirmative one.

 

When they've all settled into their positions on the bridge, the ship rumbles to life beneath their feet. They take off back into the stars, one man stronger and one step closer to getting out of this mess.

 

☾

 

Per the coordinates Youngho sends with them, the crew head to Hox, making a steady descent into its atmosphere. Taeyong watches out the cockpit’s viewport as they dip beneath the cloudline and grow ever closer to the emerging city.

 

"So, Taeil," Yuta asks the pilot from somewhere just behind them. It seems Taeyong isn't the only one curious about the view. "Can you go over what Youngho sent you again? The specifics."

 

"You weren't paying attention to a single word I said, were you?"

 

"I think we both know I shouldn't answer that question."

 

Taeil huffs, dipping the nose of the ship down in a steeper angle toward their landing zone. "Fine," he concedes. "Youngho gave us the location of the tavern where Weasel spends his evenings. Weasel knows where we can find Jackpot, who Youngho insists we need as a pilot to evade Zadra's goons."

 

"That's...definitely something to say to another pilot," Taeyong says carefully.

 

"Youngho's never been one for tact." Taeil shrugs. "But that doesn't mean he's wrong. If we're serious about keeping off Zadra’s radar while working toward paying him back, we'll need someone with more skill than me."

 

A hand goes up from someone else standing behind Taeyong, who wouldn't have noticed had it not been for the too-loud-to-be-subtle throat clear that accompanies it.

 

"Where do I come in?" Donghyuck asks before he's called on.

 

Taeyong takes that as his cue to finally step back into his captain's shoes, facing the assembled crew as Taeil completes their landing.

 

"Alright, we pull this off and we're one step closer to having Zadra off our tails, so stick to the plan. Taeil, stay with the ship and make sure no one tries to sneak on board. Yuta, create a distraction if anyone starts to give us too much attention inside. Donghyuck, Jaehyun will be your backup while you make Weasel talk...if you're up for it."

 

Donghyuck takes the challenge for what it is, a sly look on his face as he says, "I'll be done before you even realize I've started."

 

Either he's full of hot air or he's that good at what he does. Taeyong sincerely hopes it's the latter, especially when he's out the ship's opened doors when Taeyong is still halfway through "Move out". He sighs and wonders if this is what Taeil must feel like dealing with _them_.

 

Yuta files out soon after, giving Taeyong a mock salute, and Jaehyun pats Taeyong's back with a sympathetic look.

 

"Please keep an eye on him," Taeyong all but begs. It makes Jaehyun grin before he follows Yuta out, hopefully ready to play both bodyguard and babysitter for the next 20 minutes.

 

At the very least, when Taeyong steps into the tavern a few calming breaths after the rest, there's no screaming or fires to put out. There's the general ruckus and yelling from the establishment's mostly alien patrons, of course, but no disasters that appear to be the fault of his crew. Yet.

 

Taeyong takes a strategic seat at the bar. He's one step removed from most of the action, but from here he can get a clear view of both the entrance and most of the room. He'll be the first to know if anyone here has already been offered Zadra’s bribe money.

 

The barkeep has just finished mixing his drink when Taeyong's eyes finally land on an alien that matches the picture Taeil had shown him earlier today: Weasel. Donghyuck is sitting across from him at a table all to themselves, Jaehyun standing just behind the young mercenary with arms crossed and feet firmly planted. Yuta, on the other hand...Taeyong can't catch a glimpse of him. He'll just have to cross his fingers that the other man is still sticking to the plan.

 

His eyes are focusing back on Donghyuck when there's a tap on his shoulder, turning him around to face...oh. All of the air may or may not leave Taeyong's lungs at the sight of the humanoid alien giving him a once-over, all broad shoulders and dark eyes and tall, tall, tall━

 

He digresses.

 

"I don't think I've seen you around here before," the stranger says, and _okay_ , his voice is deep, too. It's as if the universe found Taeyong's list of weaknesses and checked off every box.

 

"Maybe I come here often."

 

A slight shake of the head, a smile now that he knows Taeyong is willing to play the game. "Definitely not, I would have noticed."

 

"Would you?" It's a transparent question, but Taeyong has to indulge himself, if only for a minute.

 

"I would definitely remember laying eyes on a human this beautiful."

 

Even if it's the answer he wanted, expected, Taeyong feels the tips of his ears flush red. "If you're going to keep talking like that, I'll need another drink."

 

"Ah, and he's clever, too. Very well, another drink for...?"

 

"Taejoon."

 

"Evfros." He's smiling. Taeyong can't tell if he's seen through the lie. It's almost a pity, but it's necessary.

 

When Evfros turns away to buy them both a round, Taeyong takes the opportunity to look Donghyuck's way ━ and immediately wishes he'd looked sooner. Donghyuck is leaning over the table, holding the material of Weasel's shirt in clenched fists. The fire in his eyes makes it very clear what threats are streaming from his lips. This is exactly what Taeyong hoped wouldn't happen ━ making a scene ━ and Jaehyun is still keeping an eye on the young mercenary, but he sure isn't _stopping_ him, damn it!

 

Evfros must sense that something is amiss, because when he slides Taeyong his now-full glass it's with a "You alright there, Gorgeous? You seem tense."

 

"Just a friend making life more difficult," Taeyong admits, lying only by omission. "Damn teenagers and their egos."

 

"Maybe I could━"

 

A commotion interrupts whatever Evfros was going to suggest. The pair turn in their seats to see a very smug-looking Yuta locking lips with an alien who could easily pass for a supermodel...along with her clearly jealous, fuming gangster boyfriend standing on one of the tables. He points an accusatory finger Yuta's way, looking about three seconds away from murder, and the commotion tapers off into an anticipatory silence.

 

"What?" Yuta pulls away to ask, far too nonchalant. "He told me she was single."

 

He gestures at a different gang member, and Taeyong is relieved beyond measure that even these aliens seem to have their translators embedded, because the first alien lunges for the second's throat instead of Yuta's.

 

The brawl that follows is expected at this point, even appreciated given the circumstances (Taeyong swears he sees Donghyuck's hand reaching for the weapon at his hip). It still makes Taeyong want to slam his head into the bar. He settles on throwing back one last shot, instead.

 

When the glass comes back down, Donghyuck and Jaehyun are making their way toward him, thankfully not with a smoking gun. Taeyong turns back to Evfros with an apologetic "I have to go".

 

But the alien stops him, just for a moment. There's a warm hand on Taeyong's thigh, dark eyes leaning in close to his. "I'm not blind," Evfros says lowly. "I know when someone's on the run. If you'll let me, I could keep you safe."

 

In a different life, one where Taeyong is a little less loyal, a little weaker to his impulsive heart, he says yes. But in this one, he places a hand on top of that larger one and says, "I'm sorry. I have to see this through." He’s well aware that this offer won’t extend to the others under his charge.

 

Evfros doesn't look surprised. He gives Taeyong one last smile, leaves with a murmured "good luck" in his ear.

 

In a different life.

 

Taeyong himself gets up moments later, nearly running into the others. Jaehyun is giving him a strange look that for some reason gets under his skin.

 

"Who was that?"

 

"No one," Taeyong tells him. He supposes in a way now, that's the truth. "You got what we needed?"

 

"Yep," Donghyuck answers for both of them. There's a proud smirk on his face, like he hadn't nearly gotten them turned into the authorities just moments ago.

 

But that doesn't mean Taeyong isn't still impressed. He answers with a genuine "good work," claps Donghyuck's shoulder and sees a real smile take root.

 

"Now, someone grab Yuta and drag him out before he gets himself killed."

 

☾

 

Donghyuck's intel fortunately doesn't take them to too far of a destination; in fact, they don't even have to leave the planet. They keep their ship where it is and shuttle to the closest stop they can get, still leaving Taeil behind to maintain his watch.

 

Taeyong had been tempted to force that role upon Yuta, but the other man had begged and pouted over seeing the ship race they’re heading for to the point that Taeil himself caved in and agreed to stay put. (Though, judging from the poorly concealed relief in Taeil’s face, it was clear he wasn't enthusiastic about joining them in the first place.)

 

At a gated compound a few minutes' walk from where the crew disembarked from their shuttle, Donghyuck drops Weasel’s code phrase and gains them entry. The guards on duty don't bat an eye at their weapons nor Donghyuck's age, which is equal parts convenient and mild concerning.

 

The inside of the gates opens up into the ship racing arena, a large curved track ringed with rows and rows of makeshift seats. Viewing screens are fastened to metal poles at regular intervals, outnumbered only by cameras and opportunists collecting money for bets. The whole operation feels rather flimsy and thrown together, unsurprising given its temporary state, but it's nonetheless impressive.

 

Over to the side, there's another gate leading out of the arena and into the garages. That's where Jackpot should be. But Donghyuck had been given explicit instructions: no socializing until after the race. So instead, Taeyong finds them four seats, stops Yuta and Donghyuck from buying a pair of suspicious mystery meat twists, and waits for the excitement to begin.

 

"Hey," Jaehyun leans in to ask, "You sure about this? About trying to find Jackpot after the race instead of now?"

 

"I trust Donghyuck's intel, even with him being...well, him."

 

"Give the kid some credit. He was impressive when it came down to doing his job." He must see the disbelief in Taeyong's expression, because he presses, "I'm serious. It only took a minute for Weasel to be wrapped around Donghyuck's finger; the threats were calculated. We made the right decision."

 

Some of the tension does admittedly bleed from Taeyong's shoulders at those words. It's nice to know they're not running entirely blind, not making more mistakes like the one that got them here in the first place.

 

"Do you think━" Taeyong starts to ask, but he's cut off by a slew of engines simultaneously roaring to life.

 

The gates to the garages fly open with a dramatic swing to reveal seven ships. They're all different shapes and sizes, all flown with a different level of recklessness to the starting line. But the common thread between them is what makes it clear these ships are built for racing and nothing else: modifications. Taeyong takes in a disc-shaped ship with blades visible just inside its central ring, a hulking silver ship with two additional engines attached to its sides, a narrow green one with edges chiseled so sharp they're nearly invisible.

 

"Bets on which one is our pilot?" Jaehyun asks.

 

"We know he's young. The red one on the left is the flashiest, so...?"

 

"True, but if Youngho picked him out, I'm guessing it's because he's smart, not just young. Once the race starts, I'd pick the one with the most clever modification."

 

Jaehyun makes a good point. Taeyong almost wants to point out that it was somewhat of a trick question if he was only going to pick after the race started, but it's not worth it. Not when his friend is looking more relaxed than he has in a long time.

 

But that sense of relaxation doesn't stop the two of them from jumping in their seats when the race starts without warning, all seven ships taking off around the track at a breakneck pace. The roar of the crowd is too loud for Taeyong to hear any of the announcing properly (that, and both Yuta and Donghyuck whooping beside him at the top of their lungs). He can only stare with a mix of horror and fascination as the track transforms into a hellscape of rotating blades, crashing walls, and other traps.

 

Three ships spin out in under a minute. There are teams dispatched immediately to the crash sites to pull debris off the track and stabilize the pilots, though such aftermath is largely ignored by the crowd. If anything, their cheers get louder at each subsequent disaster. It makes an unsettled shiver run down Taeyong's spine.

 

"You okay?" he hears near his ear.

 

It's not Jaehyun this time; it's Yuta, who's looking at him with unguarded concern. Taeyong is almost embarrassed this is what made him look uncomfortable enough to be a cause for such usually hidden compassion, considering their normal line of work, but the attention admittedly warms his heart more than it hurts his pride. He sends Yuta a small smile and a nod, and the other man pats his thigh before returning to his enthusiastic cheering.

 

Another loud crash sounds from the direction of the track, amplifying the crowd's cheers. Instead of the horrible spinout Taeyong's expecting, he sees the three remaining ships flying at full throttle toward the finish line. They're neck and neck on approach; it could be anyone's race.

 

Until sticky webbing extends from either side of the center ship, attaching itself to every available surface on the opponents'.

 

The affected ships are pulled down and back, nearly hitting each other as they come to a stop on the track's now-rugged surface. And the final ship, in all its blue and gold glory, makes an effortless finish over the line.

 

Cheers and boos erupt throughout the arena, depending on where bets were placed. The electronic screens replace their camera-only display with a single name: Jackpot. Taeyong catches a very brief glimpse of youthful features and shaggy black hair before the winning pilot is ushered back to the garages.

 

"That's our target," Taeyong tells the others over the fading cheers. "Now's our chance."

 

The foursome quickly make their way out of the seats and along the path to the back gates, steering clear of the disaster site remnants that maintenance teams are still working to make disappear. No one halts their progress until they're feet away. A guard takes one step in their direction and puts a single warning hand on the gun strapped to his hip.

 

"You all have clearance?"

 

"Seo Youngho sent us," Taeyong says in answer. He tries not to make it look like he's holding his breath.

 

The guard gives them a long once-over, seeming skeptical, but he does finally nod and open one of the grated doors. "No trouble," he tells them in parting, "or there won't be enough of you left to bury."

 

 _Charming_ , Taeyong thinks.

 

They file into the garages, which are far less grand in scale than the rest of the arena. A narrow walkway winds all the way back to what look like offices, while small garages for each pilot branch off along either side. Most of them are empty, their designated occupant still smoking off-track, but there's one ship in particular that's been flow back into its spot and docked next to its pilot.

 

Said pilot, Taeyong can see as they draw closer, seems to be locked in a heated argument with a rather grotesque, bulbous alien. And...actually, up close and without the helmet, it's clear that Jackpot isn't human, either. The pair of small antennae and purple spots across his nose immediately give him away as a Khrelak. Taeyong feels himself bristle on instinct; in his experience, Khrelak have never been a species who particularly inspire trust.

 

"━can't keep asking for more of a cut every time you win!" the bulbous alien is shouting.

 

"Then maybe he should stop ignoring me every time I ask!"

 

"You know very well who controls how much of the betting pool goes toward━! Ah, we have company."

 

Taeyong catches Jackpot’s eye just as the bulbous alien starts to stalk away, throwing a "Don't test my patience!" back at the pilot. A look of distaste takes over Jackpot’s features before he gives the group his full attention, regarding them with a careful smile. "Can I help you?" he asks.

 

"That depends. Are you Jackpot?"

 

"Call me Mark. Don't tell me the boss sent you to shut me up."

 

"No, nothing like that. I'm Taeyong; this is Jaehyun, Yuta, and Donghyuck. We need a pilot to get us out of a tough spot, and someone gave us your name. You wouldn't be paid up front, but if things go as planned, we could negotiate what cut of leftover credits you'd take." When Mark hasn't stopped him yet, Taeyong presses on. "The situation is...much more life-and-death than I'd like it to be. We can't move forward without a pilot of your skill."

 

Mark is quiet for a long moment, picking over Taeyong's words. Finally, he asks, "Who gave you my name?"

 

"Seo Youngho."

 

One beat more, and Mark nods. "If Youngho trusts you, so do I. To be honest, there's nothing I want more than to get out of these races, no matter what you want me to do. But..." Mark looks apologetic. "I'm only free to go if you buy out my slave driver's ━ sorry, _handler’s_ ━ contract through the rest of the season. It's not cheap."

 

Taeyong can feel the others tense behind him. Yet another case where they're spending money they don't have with the hope of making up more, huh? It doesn't look good to crunch those numbers. But Taeyong can't deny that even without Youngho's insistence, he recognizes the importance of a good pilot when any number of Zadra's thugs could pop up on their radar.

 

He takes a deep breath.

 

"I can make it work," he tells Mark. "But I need your word that you're committed to coming with us, to following my orders for the time that your contract would have run." The pilot looks determined, if nervous, and Taeyong softens his tone when he adds, "I promise we'll treat you well. A room to yourself, what food and clothes we can spare, and you can fly the ship for as long of shifts as you want. I can't guarantee safety, but we'll do our best to keep out of trouble."

 

All of Taeyong's cards are out on the table. He watches as Mark closes his eyes, running through his thoughts before he opens them again to nod. "You have my word," he says seriously.

 

How terrible does this contract have to be, Taeyong wonders, for Mark to want out of it so badly, even if it means throwing himself headfirst into danger? How did he end up trapped in the first place? Can the word of a Khrelak be trusted?

 

And despite Taeyong's head telling him this is the only choice to make, will the price he'll pay be worth it?

 

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

 

 

Taeyong retires to his room earlier than usual that evening. The exhaustion of their escape is beginning to catch up with him, and he needs some time to reflect. He's sure at least some of the others will want to do the same, will also appreciate having time to themselves. Yuta for one had made it very clear that his beauty sleep was not to be disturbed under any circumstances.

 

Taeyong had been used to having a room to himself when it was just him and his crew of two. There was never a need to share. But this room is much larger than those he'd been in before, actually giving him walking space between his bed, his desk, and the star charts and notes taped to the wall. For once, there's enough places for everything to have a place.

 

There are no windows. None of the living quarters have them for safety reasons. But Taeyong is still content to feel the barely perceptible hum of the ship's autopilot and know they're hidden amongst the stars. Being out in the open up here doesn't make him feel exposed when everything is just so _big_. The darkness feels safe.

 

Not all is well, however, in Taeyong's slice of that vast universe. He's holding an empty box in his hands, staring blankly at the inside and feeling an uncomfortable sense of loss in his chest.

 

When Taeyong said he'd make it work, he'd meant it. And when he said the price would be high...he'd also meant that, too. His mother's necklace is now sitting in the hands of Mark's contract holder, covering the necessary amount to buy the pilot's freedom. It hadn't felt right, but Taeyong didn't want the others to worry about scrounging up nonexistent credits. He'll do whatever is right for the crew, even if it means this loss.

 

His feelings about Mark personally are up in the air for now. Taeyong has always thought of Khrelak as manipulative and untrustworthy, using their pheromones to control others to their own liking. Mark's wide-eyed fascination when he'd come aboard their ship and his agreement to come along in the first place are making Taeyong withhold judgement. He's trying. Still...Mark seems far too innocent for a pilot in races as violent as the one they'd witnessed. Taeyong's not entirely sure he believes the act.

 

At the very least, Mark seems to get along well with the rest of the crew. He'd seemed happy to meet Donghyuck, someone else his own age, and the others had quickly warmed to him. Hopefully it's of their own volition.

 

Taeyong is so absorbed in his thoughts, he's surprised to hear a knock at his door ━ and even more so when he sees who's standing on the other side of the threshold.

 

"Um...hi?" Mark greets him. He seems hesitant to continue, clearly not blind to the negative energy that's been thrown his way ever since he set foot on their ship. Still, Taeyong lets him in, pulls out his desk chair for Mark to sit in and stop fidgeting.

 

"What is it?" Taeyong asks. Personal feelings aside, he's the captain. It's his responsibility to listen when the crew needs to talk.

 

"Sorry for bothering you. I know it's kinda late, even if most of the others are playing cards in the ━ you know, not that it's important. Not that I'm saying you should be out with them! Maybe I should━"

 

"Mark."

 

"Right, sorry." Mark takes a deep breath, refocusing. "I know you don't trust me. I won't pretend to understand why, but I really do want to help. And to show you I mean it..."

 

He reaches into his pocket, pulling out an all too familiar necklace, and places it gently in Taeyong's hands. The shock that runs through Taeyong's body renders him still and silent. He can only stare at the unexpected gift, one that he'd prepared himself never to see again.

 

"I heard my handler bragging about it before we left," Mark explains. "Something about the way he said it just...I don't know. A monster who exploits people the way he does doesn't deserve to have something precious to you. So I stole it back just before I got on board."

 

"I...don't know what to say," Taeyong admits. He can't stop staring. "Thank you. This means a lot to me."

 

Mark gives him a tentative smile, and Taeyong wonders at the happiness flowing between them before he realizes this happiness isn't emotional ━ it's chemical. He shifts uncomfortably in place, shrinking back from the pheromones in the air, and only then does it visibly click for Mark why he hasn't been trusted.

 

"Oh," he says softly. His antennae droop, the purple spattered across his nose dulling to a near-gray. The air is suddenly void of anything but the guilt flowering in Taeyong's chest. It's one thing for him to be cautious, but to make this boy look so ashamed...

 

"Mark, I didn't mean to━" No, he did. And the sadness in Mark's expression isn't going to disappear if all he's hearing are lies. "It's not you, okay?" Taeyong tries again. "You didn't do anything wrong. The only other Khrelak I've known were monsters. They nearly got Jaehyun and Yuta killed, not to mention the one almost had me...well, it's not a pleasant memory. I've only seen your biology used to hurt people."

 

Mark hasn't lifted his head. "I've never done it on purpose. I haven't even been able to use my glands for long, since they only activate during...puberty? I think that's the human equivalent. You can tell me if it gets out of control."

 

He sounds like he's been put on trial. And in a way, maybe Taeyong has already made himself judge, jury, and executioner. There's an uncomfortable twist in his gut at the thought of being the smoking gun pointed at Mark's fractured confidence.

 

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed anything before getting to know you. This is all on me, okay? Shows I'm far from being a perfect captain. Don't feel like it's your fault."

 

Mark meets his eyes, then, and Taeyong grasps at whatever strings are left between them. "If I haven't already ruined things between us, maybe you could let me know more about yourself? I want to know Mark for _Mark_ , not just Jackpot the Khrelan."

 

It can't have been the entirely wrong thing to say, because Mark's antennae perk back up. "About me? What do you want to know?"

 

"Anything. I'm all ears."

 

"Well, you know most of my life already," Mark admits. "I like writing and tinkering on the side, but ever since I could get my hands on the controls, I've loved flying. I wanted to be one of those famous pilots that discovered a new planet, found a new artifact. People would hear my name and remember that I did something great."

 

"And that's why you signed up to fly in the races?"

 

"No, that was...more out of necessity. I needed food and a roof over my head, and the only thing I was good enough at was flying. Didn't have much of a choice. It was okay, at first, but racing day in and day out for someone else's profit is something you can only enjoy for so long. You buying out my contract was the best thing that's happened to me in years."

 

The necklace feels heavier in Taeyong's hands, weighed down with the young pilot's sincerity.

 

"And you?" Mark asks, throwing Taeyong off guard. "I know you and your crew are on the run, but that's about it. Not that you have to answer! But━"

 

"No, it's a fair question," Taeyong reassures him. "I don't know Donghyuck well enough to introduce him, since he just came on board. The rest of us have known each other for most of our lives. Jaehyun, Yuta, and I sometimes like to call ourselves businessmen, or mercenaries in different company, but we're really just doing odd jobs around the galaxy. Taeil's an actual businessman; he was just unlucky enough to be friends with us when we couldn't repay our debts."

 

"So is that what you're going to do once you're not on the run? More 'odd jobs' and adventuring?"

 

The question gives Taeyong pause, if only for a few moments. "I guess I haven't really thought about it," he admits. "I've been too focused on keeping everyone else safe to really consider what I want to be doing."

 

A look of contemplation passes slowly across Mark's features. When he meets Taeyong's eyes again, it's much sharper than before, level but piercing.

 

"I've seen a lot of nasty, horrible people in my life. From what I've heard from the others, seen just by watching you interact, I think you all are the opposite. Maybe it won't end up mattering, but even if this whole mess runs past the end of my contract...I want to help see it through. That's a promise."

 

This boy. This honest, hardworking boy who Taeyong almost took apart with his own hands. What a foolish mistake that would have been.

 

"I'll do my best to earn that trust," Taeyong promises in turn. "Thank you."

 

When they shake hands, the bond that forms between them this time is an organic one. It's all Taeyong could ask for to know he can trust these hands that will pilot them to freedom. He sends Mark off with one last 'goodnight' and turns in himself soon after, resting easy.

 

Taeyong isn't perfect. He knows that. None of them are. But if they can put aside their differences and combine their strengths...

 

Maybe they can pull this off after all.

 

☾

 

The next three days alternate between settling everyone into the ship and meeting with different combinations of the crew to figure out their game plan. Mark is a trooper through it all, flying for long hours into the night while they make absolutely sure they’re not being followed. He doesn’t even complain, instead making a joke here and there about being able to get a feel for the controls. Taeyong feels his admiration for the boy grow.

 

Finally, at the end of the third day, Taeil takes over flying the ship while Mark gets some much-deserved rest. The others split off into their own groups to unwind, and Taeyong finds himself once again in his room, going over star charts and planning his next move.

 

Some of the others might poke fun at him for it, maybe even call his insistent planning unhealthy, but Taeyong can't help it. He's the last line of defense between the crew and any number of terrible decisions, so if it means he comes up a few hours of sleep short each week to keep the others safe, that's a sacrifice he'll gladly make.

 

(When had the newcomers become part of the same collective 'others,' he wonders? He thinks he'll miss them more than he expected when this is all over.)

 

A light flashes on his commlink, discarded on the bedside dresser, and Taeyong answers it with some confusion. The only people who have his number are the rest of the crew, so why...?

 

Taeil's holographic head projects a few inches above the commlink, answering at least part of the question.

 

"Everything okay?" Taeyong asks him.

 

" _Not sure. It's probably nothing ━ and I do hate to bother you with this, Taeyong, sorry ━ but I'm getting some weird readings from the cargo bay. You mind checking it out?_ "

 

"Sure, give me a few minutes and I'll get back to you."

 

Taeil signs off with a quick thank-you, and Taeyong snaps the commlink back around his wrist. He _really_ hopes this is just a misreading. The last thing they need is a ship malfunction and having to get lucky with stealing another one.

 

The cargo bay doors hiss open at the end of the hallway, inviting Taeyong inside. He's only ever in here when they're boarding and leaving the ship, but he knows the space well enough to recognize if something is off. And as far as he can tell...everything is as it should be. A misreading, then? Taeil or Mark had never mentioned false alarms before.

 

"Taeyong? What are you doing in here?"

 

Taeyong turns away from his visual sweep to see Yuta standing in the entrance. His mouth's autopilot nearly responds with a default “nothing,” but then he remembers who was on ship-watch back at their last fuel stop.

 

"Taeil picked up something strange on the internal sensors. Did anything out of the ordinary happen while we were docked?"

 

"Nope, I didn't have to do much of anything besides standard guard duty." Yuta cocks his head, considering. "I mean, I did talk to one guy, but he seemed normal enough. He asked me some questions about the ship, told me he was a real enthusiast, and I know enough to brag. I think I really sold it."

 

A sinking feeling settles in Taeyong's gut. "What exactly did you tell him?"

 

"All the best parts. Landing sequences, fuel capacity, layout...wait." His eyes widen. "He was trying to figure out a way on board, wasn't he? Shit, I'm so sorry. I didn't even think about...shit."

 

"If he tampered with the systems to get in, that would certainly explain the weird readings. He might be somewhere on board."

 

"But why? We don't have enough supplies for him to be trying to steal from us. It's almost like he'd have to be after some _one_."

 

Taeyong can feel the wheels in his head start to spin. He runs through a list of names, mentally striking through each one. "Taeil is sealed inside the cockpit. Donghyuck and Jaehyun are playing cards in the kitchen, so I would have passed anyone on my way here. We're obviously together..."

 

"Mark," they realize in unison.

 

Two sets of footsteps pound toward the pilot's room. Taeyong swings the door open wide, and it only takes a moment for light from the hallway to illuminate a dark figure hunched over Mark's sleeping form, the glint of a blade, before adrenaline kicks in. He and Yuta tackle the intruder to the floor.

 

"Go get help!" Taeyong calls to a now very much awake Mark, struggling to wrench the knife out of the intruder's hand. It unceremoniously clatters to the ground, and as Mark races out of the room, Taeyong can feel a fresh wave of the other's fear pulse through the air to run down his own spine. He doesn't blame the boy for losing control; frankly, in Mark's place, he would have been paralyzed into inaction.

 

The intruder writhes beneath Taeyong and Yuta's hold. They throw more of their weight into it, pinning the man (boy? He looks hardly older than Mark when the light catches his face) completely to the floor.

 

Strength has never been Taeyong's area of expertise, however, and he's relieved when the others arrive to step in. Donghyuck brings over one of the desk chairs, Taeil goes to fetch the rope he'd discovered when first settling into the cockpit, and Jaehyun helps Yuta tie their new foe up in the center of the room. Mark himself stands at the far edge of the commotion. He's visibly shaken, but Taeil stands calmly next to him, talking quietly enough not to be overheard. Whatever he's saying must help, because the smell of fear is already much less potent than it was a few minutes ago.

 

The intruder ━ Sicheng, he introduces himself ━ turns out to be surprisingly forthcoming with information.

 

"Eclipse sent me," he readily admits. "Or, at least, they're my employers. I'm not sure who signed the contract. I was only given a picture and a name: Jackpot."

 

With that little detail, Taeyong knows _exactly_ who's behind this.

 

"Mark's former boss wants him dead?" Yuta asks. "That doesn't make sense. What, did we steal something from him, too?"

 

Taeyong and Mark share a look, a secret shared, and Mark is the one to answer lowly, "You stole me."

 

"You? That’s━ What happened to buying out the contract, Lee Taeyong?"

 

"Don't blame him. This one's on me," Mark cuts in, ignoring the start of Taeyong's objections. "What I don't understand is why he only wants me dead and not the rest of you."

 

"Oh, the rest of you were meant to die, too, in a ship malfunction after Jackpot was dead. I had special instructions to kill him first myself." Sicheng says it matter-of-factly, like he's discussing tomorrow's weather instead of homicide.

 

"Shouldn't you be more afraid right now?" Jaehyun asks, echoing Taeyong's own thoughts. "We do have you tied to a chair and surrounded."

 

Sicheng shrugs. "If you try to kill me, you'll be dead. I trust my training."

 

There's nothing but calm and confidence in his voice. Taeyong is almost inclined to agree with him. Instead, he asks, "And what do you think we'll do with you, now that you've been caught? You can't expect us to just let you go free."

 

"Not sure. This is the first time I've failed ━ Eclipse didn't waste much time training us on what to do after that."

 

Taeyong can't stare for too long at the unreadable smile on Sicheng's face, too disturbed by how out of place it seems.

 

"We can lock him up in the containment cell downstairs," Jaehyun suggests.

 

"Or we could just, you know, kill him and be done with it?"

 

"Donghyuck."

 

"Okay, _mom_ ," the mercenary agrees with an eye-roll. He steps in to help Taeil and Yuta this time, the three of them moving Sicheng's restraints to his wrists and leading him out of the room.

 

This is fine. They can...deal with it, given time. Or at least that's what Taeyong has to tell himself to not panic over how close they'd come to total disaster.

 

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

 

It's Jaehyun asking, low in Taeyong's ear. Normally, he'd get an immediate yes, but Taeyong's eyes are on the final crew member left in the room, still standing against the wall with arms wrapped around his shaking body.

 

"Just a minute," he says.

 

Jaehyun nods in understanding before stepping out, giving them some privacy. And Mark...he doesn't even seem to have noticed that everyone is gone. A red flag if there ever was one.

 

"Mark? Are you okay?"

 

The boy startles, shrinking back before he realizes who's talking. "Oh, Taeyong. I'm, uh, fine? Just shaken up." He breaks eye contact. "I'm sorry for earlier, for losing control. It won't happen again."

 

"Don't apologize. Something like this would have made anyone panic. Just know that you can talk to me, okay? You're allowed to feel scared or upset or whatever it is you're trying to keep locked up."

 

He can see the exact moment Mark's expression changes, the moment he tentatively starts to take down the wall.

 

"Okay. Okay, you're right." A deep breath. "Because I think I'm actually terrified? I didn't even hear him come in, and then there was so much happening at once, and if you hadn't shown up when you did━" He cuts himself off, knuckles whitening as his grip around himself tightens, breathing uneven and━

 

And Taeyong can't watch this anymore.

 

"Hey, come here," he says gently, holding out his arms.

 

There's a part of him that second-guesses the invitation, wonders if Mark is the type to _avoid_ touch during moments like these, but he needn't have worried. Mark wraps his arms around Taeyong's waist and squeezes, only a bit too tightly. Taeyong rubs slow circles into his back until the other's heartbeat has slowed.

 

"Better?"

 

"Much," comes the muffled reply. Then, more hesitantly, "Would you mind if I stayed with you tonight, instead?"

 

"As many nights as you need until it feels safe again."

 

When Mark pulls away, there’s a sad sort of smile on his face. "Are we really ever going to be safe?"

 

It chills Taeyong to the bone to hear that even this boy feels the weight of their choices pulling them toward disaster. He tries not to let it show. "Bring anything you need to my room," he says with a practiced calm. "I'll be there in another few minutes, alright?"

 

Mark gives him a grateful nod. His arms are back at his sides, his posture less tense, and Taeyong finally feels like he can walk out of that room. Jaehyun is waiting for him near the end of the hallway, respectfully out of earshot. Taeyong matches his steps as they head toward the other man's room.

 

"The kid going to be okay?" Jaehyun asks when he closes the door.

 

"He just needs time. It's been seeming that way with a lot of things lately. Our intruder is locked up in Containment?"

 

"Taeil came to tell me it was taken care of. The others agreed to take guard duty shifts, and Yuta lost the game to go first."

 

Taeyong snorts. "Of course."

 

"Speaking of our enemies...that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Jaehyun admits. "Shit timing, but you needed to know eventually: Mark's boss isn’t the only one coming after us. I overheard Taeil on a call yesterday. He's got himself in hot water, hot enough for us to add another name to our growing list."

 

"How bad?" Taeyong's not entirely sure he wants to know, and Jaehyun grimaces at the question.

 

"One of Taeil's biggest risks was financing you, Yuta, and me. He expected a profit from our last operation, so he wasn't afraid of borrowing money from a line of different businessmen in exchange for future favors. Except our plan went bust, Taeil gained nothing, and I'm sure you see where this is going."

 

"They're starting to call in their favors, and Taeil has nothing to give them."

 

"Exactly. And what better way to get the money you're owed than to turn in a group of runaways with a bounty on their heads, destroying the person who never paid you back in the process?"

 

Guilt bubbles up in Taeyong's chest. It's obvious whose fault this whole situation was in the first place, but to hear that they've directly ruined things for their closest friend...judging by Jaehyun's expression, he feels the same.

 

"Any ideas?" Taeyong tries.

 

Jaehyun shakes his head. "I don't even know where to _start_. It feels like there's a noose around our necks that’s going to tighten no matter what we do. And we don't have enough time to figure out a better way forward."

 

"Time." The word sticks in Taeyong's head. He plays it on repeat, and he wonders… "Maybe we've been going at this the wrong way? We've been trying for a long-term solution while Zadra just wants us dead or captured as soon as possible. If we could hit back in the short-term, play his same game, maybe we could buy ourselves enough time to get the money ━ and deal with our new problems."

 

"What, you mean attack him, too?"

 

"Not directly. We'd just hit some of his smaller outposts, stir up trouble and put enough of a dent in Zadra's operations that his attention is split. Any resources he pours into protecting himself are resources that aren't coming after us."

 

Jaehyun considers it for a moment, still frowning. "And you really think he'll still take money from us after all that, if we do find a way to get it?"

 

"Shouldn't be too hard to stay hidden. It's not like he's expecting us to hit back; we've always been the type to run when things get too risky."

 

Taeyong can see that the other man isn't entirely convinced ━ even he himself isn't entirely sure how much of this is bravado and hot air ━ but he's grateful that Jaehyun is at least giving the idea a chance. It's more than Taeyong might have done.

 

"Okay. If it's what you think is best, I'm on board." Jaehyun's tone softens. "I'd trust you with my life every time. You know that."

 

"And I don't take that for granted, believe me." Taeyong's gaze falls to the floor. "Taeil trusted me, too."

 

"Don't start thinking like that. We'll find some way to make it up to him."

 

Taeyong nods, exhales. They have to.

 

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

 

 

 

Liquor burns Taeyong's throat on its way down, drawing a hiss from his lips as he returns the mug to the table. This isn’t his favorite pastime, and he'll readily admit his alcohol tolerance is next to nothing, but it's admittedly nice to have a faint buzz singing at the edges of his thoughts. The tavern's booths are also much more comfortable than he expected, making it easy to relax.

 

That's not to say that Taeyong can relax entirely. Instinct won't let him. He runs through his mental checklist without pause, considers every possible way this quick stop could go wrong. It would sure be nice if nothing did. The minors are back on the ship watching Sicheng, and the refueling and supplies pickup had gone smoothly ━ smoothly enough that they'd stopped by the local tavern at Yuta's insistence.

 

("Do we even have credits for drinks?" Taeyong had asked dubiously.

 

Yuta had only smirked. "Leave it to me."

 

The others had watched as Yuta leaned across the bar to catch the barkeep's attention, laying the sugar on thick. He got a cold shoulder instead of drinks, but a different woman at the bar took pity on him and bought their table a round. Technically, it was still a victory.)

 

Taeyong really wishes there was an off-switch for his paranoia right now.

 

"Not to ruin the mood," Taeil changes gears, cutting their banter short, "but as long as it's just the four of us...there's been a development. We received a transmission from Zadra."

 

Jaehyun nearly chokes on his drink, eyes going wide. "He found us?"

 

"No, luckily not that bad. I got it through a friend of a friend, so he still doesn't have our location pinned down. He wants to...bargain."

 

The other three share a look, and Yuta is the one to ask, "And that isn't a good thing?"

 

It's an opinion Taeyong shares, which is why he's confused at why Taeil seems so uncomfortable continuing.

 

"It's not that simple. He agreed to forgive all our debts, but only if we give him something in return." Taeil doesn't meet their eyes, hesitating. "He wants Mark."

 

 _Oh_.

 

Jaehyun is the first to recover from the revelation. "Mark? That seems like too big of a coincidence that we’d end up with someone else Zadra was after on our crew. Did he say why?"

 

"Your guess is as good as mine. I mean, considering how off-book that whole racing operation is, I wouldn't be surprised if Zadra had ties. Maybe he's trying to protect an investment."

 

It sounds so...clinical when Taeil puts it that way. Like they're not talking about the boy who'd been in Taeyong's bed last night sleep talking about flying to another dimension.

 

"And he would really leave us alone, set our debt back to zero?" Yuta asks, and Taeyong _glares_.

 

"You're not seriously thinking about this, are you?" He hasn't heard himself sound this icy in a long time.

 

"I just wanted to know!"

 

"Not when we're talking about betraying someone we promised to protect!"

 

Yuta's mouth opens again to argue, but closes without a sound. He lets out a deep breath. "You're right. Got ahead of myself, sorry."

 

"Look, I didn't want any arguing," Taeil tells them. "I just thought you should know he made the offer."

 

Taeyong closes his eyes until he regains his composure. "Which I appreciate. But this is one of those lines that we don’t ever cross. Everyone else on board?"

 

He gets a somber nod from Jaehyun, a raised glass from Yuta, and something inside him untwists. It's good to know, at least, that they're all on the same page. There are still questions running a mile a minute through his head, questions like why Mark, why now, why this much on the table? But those are for another night. Tonight, Taeyong takes the last shot of his liquor ( _christ_ , these aliens make it strong) and buries his curiosity to dig up at a later date.

 

"Who would've thought Taeyong would be the first to finish?" Yuta says with a grin, returning the atmosphere to normal. "I'll go see if I can snag us another round."

 

"It's good to know your specialty is making people feel sorry for you!" Jaehyun calls after his retreating form.

 

Yuta very eloquently flips him the bird.

 

The remaining three settle back into conversation easily, ending up at tales of the good old days despite themselves. Maybe it makes them seem old and boring, maybe it's cliche, but Taeyong can't get enough. Jaehyun's retelling of their brief stint as a demolition squad has him practically in stitches.

 

"...so, naturally, we weren't allowed back on the planet again," Jaehyun finishes, trying to keep his own laughter in check. "But it was worth it for the heart attack we gave Yuta. And speaking of Yuta...shouldn't he be back by now?"

 

That's odd. Taeyong's earlier paranoia rears its head as he scans the bar and finds no trace of the man in question. Should he be worried?

 

"He’s probably in the bathroom, hopefully not doing something he'll regret," Taeyong reasons. "I'll go check up on him."

 

Jaehyun slides from the booth to let Taeyong out, who makes his way to the bathrooms in the back. He waits by the sinks for another minute, eventually calls out Yuta's name, but all he gets in response is an annoyed "Beat it, kid" from behind one of the stalls before leaving.

 

Where _is_ he?

 

The barkeep must notice his distress, because she motions Taeyong over when he passes by. "You looking for your friend? Human, way too confident?"

 

"That's the one. Did you see where he went?"

 

She gestures toward the exit before turning her attention back to another patron, and Taeyong is left even more confused. Is Yuta sick? Did someone force him to walk out? If he's bringing someone to the cheap motel down the street, Taeyong is going to have _words_ with him later.

 

The bell on the door dings as he leaves, muggy summer air wrapping around his limbs as he steps outside. He'll check their ship first, give Yuta the benefit of the doubt, but if he's not there...again, _words_.

 

They hadn't docked too far away from the tavern for convenience's sake. Donghyuck is still sitting at the top of the ramp messing around with some game on his commlink. He quickly shuts it down when he sees Taeyong approaching.

 

"Everything okay, Cap?"

 

"Walk with me," Taeyong instructs, and they fall into step together as they get back on board the ship. "Have you seen Yuta?"

 

"Yeah, he came back just a few minutes before you did. Why?"

 

Relief makes Taeyong weak in the knees. Here he was thinking that something had gone wrong, when Yuta had apparently just overestimated his drinking prowess.

 

"I just wanted to check on him. He left without━"

 

A crash sounds from deeper within the ship, and any relief Taeyong had evaporates. He immediately sets off in the direction of the sound, calling over his shoulder, "Go check on Mark and Sicheng!"

 

But whatever it is that Donghyuck finds, it won't include Mark, after all. Taeyong discovers this much when he bursts into the engine room, the sight before him making his blood run cold. Bound and gagged on the floor, terror visible on his face, is Mark. Who had done this? Had Sicheng━?

 

Taeyong never does get to finish that thought. A visibly on-edge Yuta walks in the door behind him and puts all speculation to rest.

 

For a long moment, they're both frozen, each staring the other down. Taeyong feels like his mind isn't entirely tethered to his body. Surely, this can't be what it looks like. It can't be.

 

Yuta takes one hesitant step forward. "Taeyong━"

 

It's enough to bring Taeyong back to himself, to break the spell. "What the hell is this?" he demands.

 

"This is me protecting the three people who mean the world to me, no matter the cost." Yuta glances at Mark for the briefest of seconds. "I like it about as much as you do, but I won't sit and do nothing when there's a way to keep you all safe. Not just because we suddenly decided to take the moral high ground."

 

Taeyong wonders if Yuta can see his heart break.

 

"You know what we've done before isn't the same thing. Smuggling and petty theft aren't selling out a friend to a monster." His voice grows small. "How? How could you do this?"

 

Yuta says nothing. The guilt on his face speaks for itself, but Taeyong can hardly look him in the eyes to see it. He feels shocked, hurt, and...no, that's not just him. Mark's pheromones are going into overdrive, filling the room with the scent of fear and broken promises.

 

"That's it. I'm putting an end to this.” Taeyong moves to Mark's side, kneels down to start undoing his binds, but a shaky voice behind him halts his movements.

 

"Taeyong...stop."

 

The click of a safety being disengaged echoes through the room. And even though he already knows what he'll find, Taeyong turns. Heartbreak doesn't even begin to describe the splintering in his chest.

 

"You're going to shoot me?" he asks, genuinely dumbfounded. "We've been like brothers ever since we were teenagers, and you're really going to put a bullet through my head? Has this meant _nothing_ to you?"

 

Yuta's hands shake, but he doesn't drop the gun. It seems there's no use in Taeyong trying to talk himself out of this one, no heartstring he can yank on hard enough to pull the other man back from the edge.

 

But that doesn't mean Taeyong is done.

 

He makes brief eye contact with Mark, who flails his bound legs out to make Yuta stumble. It's a small window, but it's all the time Taeyong needs. In one fluid motion, he rises from the ground, yanks the weapon from Yuta's fumbling hands, and points it at the other man's chest.

 

If it were anyone else, that sudden look of fear would be vindicating. Right now it makes him want to vomit.

 

"I should turn you in to the others." Taeyong's not sure if he's talking more to Yuta or himself. "Or maybe I should hand you over to Zadra, instead, as an offering. It's not what he asked for, but you seem to be all for the idea."

 

Yuta pales.  "You're not serious."

 

"Try me."

 

It takes another extended silence, but Yuta finally breaks.

 

"Just let me go. I'll get myself off-planet, you won't...I won't bother you again. I promise."

 

"Like how you promised to go along with our decision on Mark?"

 

"Taeyong, _please_." His voice cracks in the middle of the plea, and Taeyong feels the last pieces of his composure start to slip.

 

"Get out," he hisses.

 

Keeping the gun trained on Yuta turns out to be unnecessary. He turns to run from the room, one hand pressed over his mouth. When Taeyong does holster the weapon, his movements feel mechanical, as does when he hastily unties Mark's restraints. This new reality feels foreign, separate from the one he's always known.

 

His thoughts are broken by Mark hesitantly reaching out for some sort of comfort. Taeyong is more than willing to provide. He sits on the floor, takes the boy's hands in his own, and asks softly, "Did he hurt you?"

 

He doesn't ask "Are you okay?". None of this is remotely close to okay.

 

Mark shakes his head. "I'm just a bit sore from the ropes. He didn't get the chance to drag me out, or whatever he was planning."

 

His words aren't angry. He just sounds tired, like he's accepted this sort of thing is now a part of his life. It stirs some deep-seated anger within Taeyong's chest.

 

"I shouldn't have let him go."

 

Mark gives his hands a squeeze. He doesn't disagree, but he does say, "You're not the one in the wrong here. Thank you for rescuing me. Again."

 

But Taeyong doesn't feel at all like a hero.

 

☾

Mark stares at the sealed door, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth out of habit. Once he steps inside, there's no going back. He's still not positive how he feels about that yet.

 

"You sure about this?" Donghyuck asks. "Last time you two were face-to-face, he did try to kill you."

 

"That's why you're here," Mark says, trying and failing to sound confident.

 

Jaehyun, who's been standing guard in front of the door, must sense Mark's distress, because he's quick to reassure him, "If I see anything go wrong on the video feed, I'll be there to help in seconds. You’ll be safe."

 

Mark nods, clutching the tray in his hands like a lifeline. It's hard to put into words why he feels like he has to do this. Maybe it's part fascination with the assassin who'd brought him the closest he'd ever been to death. Maybe it's wanting to understand why Sicheng is the way he is. Both?

 

"Right behind you," Donghyuck says, and it's enough for Mark to signal to Jaehyun that he's ready.

 

"Good luck, you two."

 

They step inside the opened entrance, door hissing shut behind them. For a moment, Mark takes in the containment cell, never having been down here before to see it. The cell itself takes up about half of the room, separated by a projected screen that's only visible with the occasional ripple. It's a strange illusion to feel like there's actually nothing in between. On the far right of the barrier is an electronic dispenser meant to move objects from one side to the other. And right next to the inner dispenser, sitting on the floor with an almost eerie calmness, is Sicheng.

 

Sicheng's eyes open to give the approaching pair a once-over. His expression is unreadable, giving nothing away. It's not until Donghyuck gives him a nudge that Mark moves closer to place the tray of food in the dispenser. The high-pitched _beep_ of the machine as it transfers inside the cell is loud in the silence.

 

Sicheng takes the tray and places it on the floor in front of him, but he doesn't eat yet. Instead, he raises an eyebrow and comments, "I'm surprised you're the one to come visit me. What was your preferred name? Mark?"

 

"Yeah," Mark chokes out. He can feel Donghyuck's gaze on him, making sure he's still doing okay.

 

The corners of Sicheng's lips quirk up in the imitation of a smile. Mark wonders if he still has human emotions, or if those were trained out of him years ago.

 

"You can sit down, you know. No need to be so stiff."

 

There's something about his presence that makes Mark take a seat, Donghyuck following suit.

 

"I want to know more about you," Mark admits after a moment's pause. "I've met plenty of humans, but none of them have been so...strange?"

 

"Strange," Sicheng repeats with another almost-smile. "Maybe that's because I'm not human."

 

"You...what?"

 

"It's hard to tell unless you know what you're looking for. My eyes are a bit too large to be human. I have twelve fingers and no fingernails. Normally, the color-changing would give me away, but I have that under control."

 

"Oh." Mark's not quite sure what to say to that. In other circumstances, he'd be relieved to find another non-human, but now...he's not sure what to feel.

 

"As for knowing more about me," Sicheng picks up, "I suppose I don't mind a chat. I was sold to Eclipse when I was seven, trained ever since then in the art of assassinations. I'm very good at what I do."

 

"And you're not angry that they took away your choices and made you their tool?"

 

"Maybe once. Keep in mind that a large part of my training was mental; I don't feel any emotion too strongly, since it would get in the way of my contracts."

 

He says that, but Mark can't help but feel sympathy for him, parts of his story sounding uncomfortably familiar. Maybe that makes Mark a fool, having been one of those 'contracts' Sicheng mentioned so casually.

 

"Why are you telling us any of this?" Donghyuck cuts in. "Aren't assassins supposed to be, like, mysterious?"

 

Sicheng just shrugs. "What else am I going to do? This cell isn't exactly the most interesting place to be."

 

An annoyed huff leaves Donghyuck's lips. "Fine, be that way. Are you still trying to kill Mark?"

 

"Not anymore. After I've been captured and held by the enemy for 24 hours, my role in the contract is officially failed and voided. Eclipse assumes at this point that I'm dead. Mark is no longer my responsibility." He cocks an eyebrow. "Though I can imagine I'm not the easiest person for you to trust."

 

"I don't know who to trust anymore," Mark admits, sounding more fragile than he expected.

 

He can sense Donghyuck's eyes on him, making him feel self-conscious, but despite Donghyuck's typical disposition he's confident the other will keep those words within these walls. The fact that Donghyuck had agreed to accompany Mark here in the first place tells him all he needs to know.

 

Sicheng doesn't respond, doesn't push. But he fixes Mark with a stare that makes him want to say more.

 

"One of the other crew members tried to sell me back to the person we're running from," Mark finds himself saying. "I trusted all of them, and he stabbed me in the back. Who's to say someone else won't try the same thing if things get worse?"

 

Sicheng purses his lips as he thinks. "The one who leads them, the captain ━ it's obvious he cares about you too much to do it himself. I'm an expert at feeling out deceit, and there's none there. As long as he can keep his crew under control, you shouldn't need to worry."

 

"What, you're giving him _counseling_ now?" Donghyuck asks incredulously. "We literally have you locked up in a cage, and you're giving out free therapy sessions."

 

"Is it really that strange? Put yourself in my shoes. I can't go back to Eclipse now that I've failed. I have no idea what will happen to me next. The least I can do for myself now is to make this situation a pleasant one. Would you disagree?"

 

Donghyuck doesn't answer, which speaks for itself.

 

"Then...can I ask you something more personal?" Mark asks.

 

Sicheng gives him another stare, which he takes as a 'yes'.

 

"You mentioned changing color earlier, which I'm guessing means you're a Chamisae? Even if you're trained to not feel things as strongly, you'd still change color to whichever emotion was being suppressed. But...you're not. How?"

 

"Just because it's part of my biology doesn't mean I can't work to control it. If I suddenly changed colors before going in for a kill, I wouldn't be a very good assassin." He pauses. "I smelled your fear earlier, when the dispenser was open. If you'd like, I can teach you how to bring your glands under control."

 

It's so tempting. Mark's first thought is that it's too good to be true, but when he thinks about it, there's not much that Sicheng could do if he has ill intentions. He's behind a screen. Still...

 

"Only if Donghyuck can be there, too."

 

"Of course," Sicheng agrees easily. "I'd make an official appointment, but you know where I'll be."

 

That almost sounds like a joke. Is he...?

 

The sound of the door opening swings Mark's head back aground to see Jaehyun stepping inside, eyes flickering between the three of them. "Sorry to interrupt," he says, "but Taeyong called another meeting on the bridge."

 

"We'll be there in a minute," Mark tells him, and then to Sicheng, "We have to go, but we'll come to see you again."

 

Sicheng doesn't say anything, but he doesn't object. Just before Mark gets up to leave, he swears he sees a hint of a real smile on the other's face.

 

☾

 

Losing Yuta was a big blow. Taeyong can't deny that. The rest of the crew hasn't taken it well, and Taeyong finds himself unable to sleep at night, wondering what he could have done differently. Still, for all their sakes, they have to move forward.

 

The new plan of hitting Zadra's smaller outposts was a good one, in theory. There’s just one small problem: they don't know any coordinates other than the few places they’ve met him in person, and even those were just via his ship. They need coordinates for small but effective targets. Rumors of a shopkeeper who acts as Zadra's supply runner had led them to one colonized moon.

 

Taeyong volunteers to accompany Donghyuck to the shop in question after touchdown. The plan is straightforward enough: break into the registry of outgoing ships and see if there's a pattern that will lead them to their next destination.

 

"I wouldn't trust most of Donghyuck's suggestions for distractions, if I were you," Jaehyun tells Taeyong before he disembarks.

 

"Noted. Any better ideas?"

 

"Just be yourself. That seems to work on most people."

 

Taeyong narrows his eyes, wondering if he's misunderstood. "Are you telling me I'm distracting enough to use myself as bait?"

 

Jaehyun all but pushes him down the ramp. "Don't keep the kid waiting!"

 

It's a short hike from their landing spot to the shop, the location of their own choosing since the moon lacked an official port to dock at. Taeyong's legs aren't complaining. They duck inside and take in the layout, pretending to browse as they look for weak points. There are only two other customers, which makes it harder to blend in, but there are also no guards posted by the door on the back wall. Not too bad.

 

With a nod to Donghyuck, they finally make their way to the counter. Taeyong chats up the shopkeeper about recent business (purposefully ignoring Jaehyun's earlier words), and he sees out of the corner of his eye when Donghyuck leans over the countertop to look closer at a replacement panel ━ and swipes the keycard off the shopkeeper's belt.

 

When another customer asks about a part on the wall and he turns around, the pair make their move. Taeyong moves to block any view of Donghyuck as he deftly swipes the stolen keycard through the back door's reader, and together they slip into the room.

 

The last of their light vanishes when the door shuts with a soft _click_ , but it turns out not to be an issue: the glow from the terminal on the other side of the room leads them right to where they want to go. It takes seconds for Donghyuck to bring his commlink online and hack his way into the shipping registry.

 

"There," Taeyong says, stopping the other man from scrolling. "There's only one set of coordinates he's sending ships out to enough times with enough cargo. It has to be what we're looking for."

 

Donghyuck hums, but he continues scrolling, brows furrowing. "You might be right, Cap, but...even if it is, I think we have a problem. These coordinates are repeated almost daily. And the shipments are _huge_."

 

Damn it. Taeyong quickly catches on to what Donghyuck is alluding to. This isn't some small outpost; it's a major supply depot, much larger than they'd hoped.

 

"What should we do?" Donghyuck asks.

 

"Just...send the coordinates to Taeil. I don't want to stay here any longer than we already have."

 

"Roger that."

 

Donghyuck's fingers fly over his commlink's projected keyboard, uploading as much of the registry as he can reasonably snapshot. He wipes their digital tracks with a single keystroke, and they turn to leave.

 

Except the door bursts open to reveal the shopkeeper flanked by five goons, glaring at them with murder in his eyes. "How stupid do you think I am?" he barks. "As if I wouldn't see you sneaking back here like roaches. Men!"

 

Donghyuck has his gun out even before the man finishes his tirade, Taeyong only seconds behind. They duck behind one of the generators jutting out from the wall and fire. But five against two...after their initial assault, Taeyong can't find a break in the gunfire to aim again. One bullet whizzes particularly close to the top of his head, and he swears.

 

"Donghyuck? Next move?"

 

The young mercenary looks around the room before a satisfied grin breaks out on his face. "You trust me, Cap?"

 

"Please don't make me answer that."

 

"Follow my lead on three. One, two..."

 

A sudden shattering of glass sounds above the gunfire, making Taeyong instinctively curl up. When he opens his eyes, he sees a broken window on the wall they've been crouching against, tantalizingly close.

 

"After you, Cap!"

 

If Taeyong wasn't in this mess precisely because he had less than nothing to spare, he would have given Donghyuck a raise on the spot. As it stands, he slinks as far away from their cover as he can get before leaping out the window, Donghyuck following close behind.

 

They run. They spring back toward the ship, goons hot on their heels (and from the sound of it, ships. The joys of stealing from an arms dealer).

 

When the ship comes into view, the landing ramp is thankfully still engaged. They run up it like madmen, hatch already closing and engine already roaring to life. Taeyong will hand it to Taeil: the man knows how to make a quick escape. By the time they collapse on the floor of the bridge, spent, the ship is already airborne.

 

"What happened?" Taeil calls from the cockpit.

 

"We sent the coordinates, but━"

 

Taeyong is cut off by the ship giving a violent shake, shields protecting them from the worst of the damage but clearly taking heat.

 

"Mark!" Taeil yells this time.

 

The boy in question runs in with none other than Sicheng in tow, and Taeil looks like he's about to short-circuit.

 

"You let him out!?"

 

"Don't worry, he's fine," Mark brushes the accusation off before taking his place in the pilot's seat. A look of concentration takes over his face as he grips the controls, and Sicheng settles in against one of the panels, clearly comfortable.

 

Taeil stares at them open-mouthed for another moment before he turns back to Taeyong, who can only give him a shrug. They don't have much choice right now but to accept this new development.

 

"Alright," Taeil concedes. "We're hitting this outpost right away?"

 

"Not yet. It's bigger than we expected ━ much bigger. Our original plan isn't going to work. We need to get to another system and regroup."

 

Mark takes a particularly risky dive after Sicheng calls "Asteroid!", and they all hear a distinct _bang!_ followed by flashing warning lights.

 

"I need to get into hyperspace _now_. I'll set our destination for the nearest neutral system."

 

"Wait," Taeil stops him. "Put in the coordinates, but I need to do a crew check." He opens his commlink, dialing into the ship's intercom. "Jaehyun, we're about to jump. You ready?"

 

They don't get a response right away.

 

"I'll go check on him," Taeyong volunteers, already moving. "I'll call you when I find him."

 

"Hurry!"

 

Taeyong is halfway to the back of the ship when Jaehyun's voice finally crackles through the full-ship intercom, shouting, " _NOT YET! I need help in the engine room NOW!_ "

 

It takes a moment for Taeyong to buzz in that he's on his way before he's practically flying down the hallway. He's never heard Jaehyun sound this scared, and it's something he already never wants to hear again.

 

There's a warning light blinking red on the engine room door, indicating a breach of outside atmosphere. Taeyong curses as he pulls on one of the spacesuits from the rack. They're relatively painless to change into, far from the bulky monstrosities of the past, but he's still wasting time. As soon as the helmet is engaged, he's through the doorway and into the chaos.

 

He really does mean chaos: there's a large dent on the back wall, indicating where the asteroid from earlier had struck. The impact must have triggered something in the ship's emergency systems, because the back hatch is open, vacuum attempting to suck every loose object out into the darkness of space ━ including a flailing Jaehyun. Jaehyun thankfully has his spacesuit on, too, but he's barely gripping onto a metal pole protruding from the wall.

 

"Hold on!" Taeyong shouts over the spacesuit’s radio, realizing too late how it sounds.

 

" _Thanks for that, really_!" Jaehyun's voice crackles through the line. He still somehow manages to sound sarcastic despite his obvious terror.

 

It's hard for Taeyong to let go of the door handle and reach for another grip; the mental image of being untethered outside the ship is hard to shake, and he can barely keep his feet on the floor the longer he's in here. But slowly, carefully, he transfers himself between anything still bolted into the walls and floor.

 

" _Hurry_!" Jaehyun calls, voice tight. Taeyong can only glance for a moment at the other man's slipping fingers, heart caught in his throat. If he can just make it to the override switch...

 

Jaehyun slips. Taeyong feels his world slow to a halt. With a cry, he launches himself toward the panel, yanking the switch down. The hatch closes, Jaehyun's body _thud_ s against the metal before hitting the ground, and Taeyong stumbles before regaining his footing, rushing to the other man's side.

 

Jaehyun is breathing heavily, but he looks unharmed. It’s hard for relief to make its way into Taeyong’s body when he’s so hung up on the shock, the thought that if he had been a moment slower, if Taeil hadn't followed procedure...

 

Taeil. Taeyong disengages his helmet with a button-push, pulling the intercom back up on his commlink.

 

"We're both good," he says simply. "Make the jump."

 

He closes the line without waiting for a response. His priority right now isn't waiting to hear technical updates from their two pilots. His priority is Jaehyun ━ Jaehyun whose helmet is fogging up, breathing too fast to be entirely okay. Taeyong wants to kick himself for not noticing sooner.

 

"Hey, calm down," he starts, before remembering the other man can't hear him. He reaches out to disengage Jaehyun's helmet as well, finally seeing the glazed-over look of horror on his face.

 

"Jaehyun. Jaehyun, look at me. It's Taeyong. I'm here." He lays a hand gingerly on the other man's arm, holding on despite the flinch he gets in return. "You need to breathe, okay? Nice and slow. In...out."

 

"Taeyong━" It's a choked sound that comes out of his mouth, eyes finally starting to focus on Taeyong's own.

 

" _Ssh_ , you don't have to say anything. Just breathe."

 

It takes another few minutes of patient instruction, but Jaehyun's breathing finally does slow. He keeps control of that regained calm for a heartbeat longer before his features start to crumble.

 

"Taeyong," he says again, too small, and Taeyong is already reaching forward to catch him before he falls apart, to hold these last fragments of his composure together.

 

"I've got you."

 

Jaehyun's nails dig into his back, painful even despite the layers in between their skin. His string of muttered curses is just audible in Taeyong's ear. He's shaking like a leaf. But not once does Taeyong think of letting go, not for a while yet. How can he, when they've just seen how easy it would be to lose each other?

 

The ship shudders as it jumps through the stars. The tightness in Taeyong's chest doesn't recede.

 

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

 

 

The system Mark brings them to seems quiet enough. Its planets look mostly uninhabited, or if they are, they aren't getting a whole lot of air traffic. Mark sets the autopilot to let them drift in a vague orbit around one of the outer moons, just so their path has a reference point.

 

When a full rotation finishes without incident, Taeyong calls the crew to the bridge. Sicheng is there, too, hovering just behind their two youngest crew members. The others seem to have given up mentioning it. Taeyong is giving him the benefit of the doubt, more for Mark's sake than Sicheng's own.

 

"So, we need a new plan," Taeyong starts. He plants his hands on the table, meeting each set of eyes. “What Donghyuck and I found is huge, but it’s not something we can realistically use. We don’t have the resources to attack a supply depot that large. To be honest...I’m not sure what our next move is. Suggestions?”

 

A silence drags out after his words, shifty pairs of eyes briefly meeting each other before looking away.

 

“There’s no stupid ideas here, I promise. As long as you’re serious.”

 

Mark half-raises his hand before realizing he doesn’t have to be called on. “There’s got to be other suppliers, right? We could try pinpointing a different set of coordinates.”

 

“It was hard enough finding one,” Taeil refutes. “And that feels like taking a shot in the dark when we don’t have a lot of time.”

 

“Then let’s use what we already have.” Donghyuck’s spine straightens considerably when the crew looks his way. “I mean, we already went through the trouble of hitting the motherlode. Coordinates like these are valuable, and there are plenty of Black Market fences who would pay a lot for them ━ not just in credits.”

 

“You’re thinking of a trade,” Taeyong realizes. “The location of Zadra’s huge supply depot in exchange for a few smaller nodes that we can work with.”

 

“There are definitely information brokers we could approach with that deal, if we can find one of them,” Taeil agrees, looking less gloomy. “I have an old contact I could try.”

 

Finally, progress. They’re getting somewhere, and they’re acting like a team. Even despite their recent setbacks, Taeyong feels exponentially cheered up. He’s about to say as much when a strange thud sounds from the outside of the ship, beyond the doors to the bridge. The grind of metal on metal follows for a moment after until the silence of space returns.

 

“That doesn’t sound good,” Mark says with a frown. “Let me go check on the autopilot in case━”

 

Something slams into the ship’s hull, rocking it back and forth before the stabilizers can get the motion under control. This isn’t a malfunction; this is an attack.

 

“Everyone get armed,” Taeyong orders. “Donghyuck, are those projectiles, or are they trying to board?”

 

“I can’t see the ship from this angle, but that impact felt like a docking arm to me.”

 

Shit. This is exactly what they didn’t need right now. So much for this being a neutral system.

 

“If you don’t have a gun, go grab one from the cockpit _now_. Everyone else get behind cover.” He hesitates. “Sicheng...stay away from the door.”

 

It makes him uncomfortable to leave someone vulnerable, but he still has to be careful. He’s not about to trade one danger for another.

 

Not two minutes later, the bridge’s sliding doors begin to smoke. Taeil and Mark make it back from the cockpit just as the acrid stench of burning circuitry fills the room. Taeyong presses his back against the table and wills his hands to stop shaking. This isn't his first firefight, not at all, but it still makes him nervous. Before, he’d only had two other people to protect, and both of them knew how to handle themselves in a fight. Now…

 

The doors fly open with a bang. Taeyong turns to fire immediately, still shielding his body behind cover. It takes him three seconds to realize that the group of alien invaders ━pirates, mostly likely━ are only armed with spears, and two more to do something about it.

 

“Those aren’t ranged weapons! Don’t be afraid to fire, but don’t let them get close enough to spear you!”

 

A bullet appears right between the eyes of one pirate. Taeyong sees the triumphant smirk on Jaehyun’s face and doubles down on his own efforts, determined not to be outdone. Two more pirates go down. That leaves three ━ two, thanks to Donghyuck.

 

One pirate is staying down by the doors, probably waiting for an opportunity to throw one last hail mary with his spear through one of their skulls. The other is getting uncomfortably close, much too skilled at dodging bullets for Taeyong’s liking. He doesn’t realize just how close until he hears Taeil yell, “Mark, get down!”

 

No. _No._ The pirate near the door falls. Taeyong whips around toward where Mark was crouched down. He fires two shots as a spear jabs downward with deadly precision. The pirate collapses, and Taeyong can’t breathe until he sees for sure that Mark is unharmed.

 

Except...the pilot is fine, but there’s a look of growing horror on his face. Donghyuck is standing in front of him with wide eyes and a face as pale as a ghost ━ and a five-foot spear going straight through his middle.

 

“Donghyuck━” Mark chokes out.

 

That seems to snap the mercenary out of his shock. He crumples to the ground with a pained gasp, hands gripping futilely at the spear’s entry point. A deep red bloom spreads across the fabric of his shirt, matching the stained end that extends behind him.

 

“Taeil!” Taeyong is at a loss. He needs someone else to take over, and their closest thing to a medic seems like a good choice.

 

“I’m here.”

 

Taeil is at Donghyuck’s side immediately, his hands hovering near the wound but not daring to touch. He makes a few measurements, then takes Donghyuck’s hand, pulling it away from the entry point.

 

“Stay with us,” Taeil tells him. “It doesn’t look like you have any vital organs hit, so we just don’t want it shifting. Understand?”

 

Donghyuck nods, jerky and unfocused. Instead of comforting him, the words just seem to have made the pain more real.

 

“What can we do for him?” Jaehyun asks.

 

Taeil holds onto Donghyuck’s hand a moment longer before letting go, turning to the others with more than a touch of panic in his expression. “This is way over my head. I don’t...I don’t even know where to start. Have any of you ever…?”

 

The silence that follows his question is an answer in itself. A sob cuts through that silence, one that Taeyong can’t place before he realizes it’s coming from Donghyuck. Donghyuck who never cries, never shows when anything gets to him, has been reduced to a teary mess of blood and pain.

 

“Please,” Donghyuck begs. “Someone make it stop or please just end it.”

 

There’s a subtle difference in the way he says both options. Taeyong hears it loud and clear. And he’s not about to let this be the end. To his right, he can see Mark locked in an urgent exchange with Sicheng, though he can’t make out the words.

 

“Did you two have something that could help? We need it fast.”

 

The two exchange a long look before Sicheng steps forward. “I can help him. I’ve done something similar before.”

 

Taeil looks seconds away from shutting him down. Mark must sense it, too, because he insists, “Sicheng won’t hurt him. He made a promise.”

 

“Fine. But only because we don’t have another option.”

 

Very reluctantly, Taeil steps aside. Sicheng gives Donghyuck a very brief “This might sting” before pinching the bundle of nerves at the base of his neck. The mercenary’s head lolls back on the floor, unconscious, and Sicheng snaps into business mode. He sends Taeil to get him supplies from around the ship, has Mark maneuver Donghyuck’s body to a better position, and then finally looks up at Taeyong and Jaehyun.

 

“Even unconscious, he’s still going to feel pain,” Sicheng tells them. “Pulling it out is going to _hurt_. The best thing you can do is give us some space.”

 

“But━”

 

“We can handle it,” Mark reassures him, face grim but determined. “I’ll call for you if anything starts to go wrong.”

 

Knowing Donghyuck, he’ll want as few people as possible to witness him in this much pain. Taeyong wishes them luck before following Jaehyun out the no longer smoking bridge doors, sending a positive thought out to the universe for this to go well.

 

“Hey, Jaehyun, thanks for━” Taeyong starts to say, but the other man is already gone. He hadn’t said goodbye. In fact, if Taeyong thanks back, Jaehyun hasn’t spoken a single word to him since the situation in the cargo bay. Is he ashamed at what happened? Was it something Taeyong said? Maybe he’s overthinking it.

 

What matters now is that Donghyuck is getting good help (probably) and they still have a plan (mostly). That’s got to count for something.

 

Doesn’t it?

 

☾

 

Sicheng turns out to be a man of his word. He manages to stabilize Donghyuck’s condition and numb the area enough that the mercenary can manage to fall asleep for a few hours of much-needed recovery time. Still, Taeyong is well aware that sleep isn’t going to fix something this serious. They need a real doctor as quickly as possible, someone trustworthy who won’t ask a lot of questions.

 

On Taeil’s suggestion, they set a course back to Dongyoung’s tavern that Youngho had directed them to what feels like so long ago. The pirates seem to be the only ones who haven’t tried to kill them or turn them in. Hopefully that same sense of honor will extend to the man who runs their safe haven.

 

“You’re back.”

 

Dongyoung’s words are sharp, nearly as piercing as his gaze. Taeyong feels like he’s being seen right through to his insides as he explains their situation. He almost wishes more of his crew members had come besides himself and Taeil, but the others needed to keep an eye on Donghyuck ━ and Sicheng, for that matter.

 

“So one of your boys got impaled.” Dongyoung considers Taeyong carefully, calculating. “I can give you the name of a doctor who’s as tight-lipped as you need, but it won’t be free.”

 

Taeyong’s jaw tightens. “We’re not exactly in a position to hand out bribes.”

 

“Then ask someone else.”

 

Taeil steps in before Taeyong can respond, fixing the barkeep with a steady glare. “You’re going to treat us like some everyday criminals when Youngho is the one who sent us here in the first place?”

 

“Just because I have an arrangement with Youngho himself doesn’t mean I owe his associates free favors. I’m running a business here.”

 

It feels like they’ve hit a brick wall. But Taeyong thinks he has one card left to play, if he’s correctly connected the dots.

 

“And I’m sure Youngho himself would love if you let Lee Donghyuck bleed out.”

 

When Dongyoung hears _that_ name, his expression immediately changes. “Donghyuck?” He swears under his breath. “Where is he?”

 

Bingo. Youngho’s pattern of crew recommendations had some backstory to it, after all.

 

“Back on our ship. We’re limiting his physical activity so the wound doesn’t get any worse.”

 

There’s real concern on Dongyoung’s face. It’s clearly not just about fearing Youngho’s reaction, Taeyong realizes. However Donghyuck ended up at the tavern, he and the barkeep had grown close.

 

“Take these,” Dongyoung instructs, reluctantly dangling a set of keys over the bar. “I’ll close up the place in an hour. Bring Donghyuck through the back entrance and he’ll get the help he needs.”

 

Taeyong reaches for the keys, but Dongyoung pulls them back, adding on, “And if you even think about stealing anything...there won’t be a single corner in the galaxy you can hide from me.”

 

“You have our word.”

 

Dongyoung hands the keys to Taeil, instead. “We’ll see.”

 

It takes most of the crew to safely carry Donghyuck down the landing ramp and hold the door open for his carriers to pass through. Taeyong tells himself it’s a show of trust and not simple necessity that makes him pull everyone off-board, Sicheng included.

 

The back entrance leads to a storage room packed with crates and shelves of various supplies. They pull a blanket off one of those shelves to create a makeshift mattress for Donghyuck to rest on, collectively wincing with each pained protest that leaves his lips.

 

“Just a bit longer,” Taeyong reassures him. “Help is on the way.”

 

They only end up waiting half an hour before Dongyoung comes to meet them. The barkeep’s shoulders untense ever so slightly when he sees they’re here (and assumedly, when he notes his inventory is still full).

 

“How are you feeling?” he asks Donghyuck uneasily.

 

The mercenary manages a thumbs up and a deadpan “Fantastic,” which actually puts a brief half-smile on Dongyoung’s face.

 

“I called Jungwoo. He should be showing up right around…”

 

A knock sounds on the back door.

 

“Now.”

 

Dongyoung moves to let their other visitor in. The moment Taeyong lays eyes on him, he knows Donghyuck is in capable hands. This Jungwoo is clearly a Nyliad, a species well-known to be gifted in healing.

 

The gills on Jungwoo’s neck flare for a moment in surprise as he takes in all the people crammed into the storage room, but he recovers quickly. The pleasant expression on his face seems like a genuine one.

 

“Dongyoung told me what happened,” Jungwoo tells the crew. “Don’t worry; I can start fixing him right up. I’ll just need enough room to work.” His eyes flicker to Dongyoung on the last sentence, like he’s asking a question.

 

“Of course,” Dongyoung agrees. “The others can wait inside the tavern.”

 

As much as Taeyong doesn’t want to seem ungrateful, he’s still the captain, and that means putting the safety of his crew before anything. “I’d like to have one person stay back with you and Jungwoo. You’ll understand if I don’t want any of my crew left alone.”

 

“Fine,” Dongyoung concedes. “But only if it’s Taeil.”

 

An odd request. Taeyong has no problems with it, but what━

 

“So _now_ you finally acknowledge we know each other,” Taeil mutters.

 

Dongyoung smiles for real this time, an impish, indecipherable thing. “Had to make sure you didn't turn into someone else entirely when you left Youngho’s crew. You of all people should know mistrust is a healthy habit.”

 

Taeil rolls his eyes, unimpressed, but he doesn’t object. “Go,” he tells the others. “I’ll come get you when Jungwoo’s finished.”

 

The crew files out back into the tavern. Taeyong sends one last look back at Donghyuck, heart aching, but he knows this is a best-case scenario. Dongyoung isn’t a threat, Jungwoo seems perfect for the job, and Taeil is there to make sure it all goes smoothly. Everything will be fine.

 

Now he only needs to solve one more outstanding problem, related to a certain member who just so happens to be missing. Again. Taeyong makes a beeline to where Mark and Sicheng are sitting in one of the booths.

 

“Mark, do you know where Jaehyun went? I need to talk to him about, uh, Captain stuff.”

 

“Hmm? Oh. _Oh_.” Mark’s eyes widen for a moment in a way that makes Taeyong not quite sure how to feel. “I think he went to the bathroom. It’s right down the hallway.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

Taeyong turns away before he can think too hard about that exchange, finding the bathroom entrance right where Mark said he would. A bit too late, he realizes he doesn’t have much of a plan. What is he going to do, casually fix his hair in the mirror until Jaehyun is done doing his business, and then hit him with a line of questioning? Fortunately, he nearly runs smack into the other man as he closes the door behind him.

 

Jaehyun doesn’t even say hello, which is a special kind of depressing. He tries to duck around Taeyong’s arm and reach for the doorknob, but Taeyong plants his feet firmly in place and blocks the exit.

 

“Why do you keep avoiding me?” Taeyong demands.

 

“I’m not avoiding you.”

 

“Right. It’s an accident that we’re never alone in the same room and you magically disappear every time I try to ask you a question.”

 

Jaehyun is starting to look uncomfortable. “Can we not do this?”

 

“When else can we? Do I have to wait until the next time I manage to corner you in a bathroom for you to speak to me? I don’t understand what I did wrong, or why you suddenly hate me, or━”

 

“I don’t hate you!” Jaehyun snaps, making Taeyong shrink back. “I have this stupid, ugly mess of feelings that won’t stop _suffocating_ me, and being around you makes it a hundred times worse. Is it so hard to give me some space? So I can figure out what the hell is wrong with me?”

 

Taeyong feels sick. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

 

To what? To make Jaehyun feel like a stranger in his own skin? To drive apart a fifteen-year friendship? Is there even someone here to blame?

 

Something close to regret flashes in Jaehyun’s eyes. For a moment, it seems like he’s going to apologize. Instead, he turns around, crossing his arms and digging fingernails into skin. “Just leave, Taeyong.”

 

Taeyong leaves.

☾

 

Whatever combination of practiced methods and inborn talent Jungwoo uses works quickly. By dawn, Donghyuck is looking and sounding much more like himself. It will still take time for his wounds to heal entirely, of course; someone doesn't escape from a brush with death that easily. But Jungwoo sends a package of chemically modified morphine and instructions with Donghyuck, so that the young mercenary can dull the pain for a while longer while the healing process finishes. Taeyong thanks Jungwoo (and a now much less hostile Dongyoung) profusely before they take off.

 

This time, back on the ship, Taeyong doesn't even make it back to his room before his normal routine is interrupted. Mark calls over the intercom for the crew to gather on the bridge, and he turns heel to meet the others, who appear to be in a similar state of confusion.

 

Mark, however, isn't the only one standing at the head of the meeting table. Sicheng and Donghyuck are right by his side, the latter of whom easily admits, "We didn't really tell the whole truth. Sicheng is the one who wanted to talk." Mark's expression turns rather sheepish at the words.

 

"Shouldn't you be resting?" Taeil asks with a frown, but Donghyuck shrugs it off.

 

"The greater good demanded my attention."

 

Taeyong can't bring himself to roll his eyes, not even internally. This Donghyuck is far better than the crying, pained one he'd been worried to lose yesterday. He'll cut his losses. Right now, he turns his full attention to Sicheng.

 

"What did you want to say?"

 

Sicheng inclines his head briefly, a gesture of thanks. "I apologize again for the deception," he starts. "The other two weren't so sure you'd hear me out if you knew beforehand. First of all, I wanted to officially pledge my loyalty to the crew. There's nowhere else for me to go, and I've enjoyed your company. I want to help, if you'll have me."

 

If someone had described this scenario to Taeyong a week ago, he would've had a very different reaction. But as things stand, Sicheng's practically becoming a member of the team already, and Taeyong will certainly take an oath from someone who he can take at their word. A look around the room shows no objections to him having the final say.

 

"We're glad to have you aboard," Taeyong says, offering his hand. Sicheng takes it with a rare smile on his face, one that lasts only a fleeting moment before he grows serious.

 

"There's a second thing, too," he admits. "Eclipse found out through their contacts that I'm still alive after failing my contract, and they're...not pleased. I've cost them profit and credibility. One of my channels has informed me that they're sending assassins to kill me, which might put all of you in danger. I know you accepted my pledge, but━"

 

"We'll keep you safe," Taeyong interrupts. "Or at least, we'll do our best. Unlike in Eclipse, no one here gets left behind."

 

Sicheng inclines his head once more, grateful, and it hits Taeyong how much this team has grown to feel like...an actual team, even a brotherhood of sorts. He does his best not to dwell on it too long before he gets too sentimental; it's something to dig up later when he's alone and away from prying eyes.

 

"Get some sleep, everyone," he says instead. "Especially you, Donghyuck. Don't give me that look. We'll factor in potential assassins in the morning and carry on with the plan, but everyone could use some shut-eye. Taeil, set a course on autopilot so Mark can skip his next shift. Dismissed."

 

The crew disperses quickly, clearly not complaining about extra time to rest. Taeyong searches out one person in particular despite himself, but he's gone before Taeyong can even lay eyes on him. Taeyong's gut twists uncomfortably. He's about to follow the others out when he feels a light tap on his shoulder.

 

"Mark? You needed something?"

 

"Not exactly. Maybe it's not my place to say, but..." The pilot lowers his voice, eyes sweeping the room to make sure they're alone. "I really hope you and Jaehyun can stop fighting soon."

 

Interesting. Have the others caught on, or is Mark the only one this perceptive?

 

"I do, too, trust me. Let's just say it's complicated."

 

"If you say so. You know that everyone...that is, um, if you two...no one would care? No, I mean they would care, but they wouldn't━"

 

Taeyong holds up a hand to stop him right there. He's not sure who's more red in the face. "Look, I appreciate the concern," he says sincerely, "but don't worry, okay? I'll deal with it. And I do get what you're saying."

 

Mark gives him a very quick, embarrassed nod, obviously flustered, but he does return the half-hug Taeyong pulls him into before they part ways.

 

How obvious does he have to be, Taeyong wonders, for a teenager to feel the need to intervene? He needs to put an end to this stalemate soon. But what can he do, what can he say, when every attempt to talk face-to-face just seems to make things worse?

 

Are they beyond fixing?

 

 

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

 

 

 

With Donghyuck’s immediate medical needs as well as the Sicheng issue out of the way, they can finally focus back in on their original goal: throwing Zadra off the chase. Taeil reconnects with an old contact, who leads them to a middleman, who directs them to an information broker interested in the trade they were hoping to make. She pulls some strings to find them three sets of lesser coordinates, and Taeil’s contact’s word had been enough verification on their side of the table.

 

The only condition? They have to make the trade in person, where the numbers don’t pass through any electronic channels. Even for all her security, the broker had no way of guaranteeing that sticky fingers couldn’t grab ahold of the payload going in either direction.

 

Her meeting spot is on the moon of a planet in a system Taeyong honestly can’t pronounce. The moon’s surface is sparse, save for an atmospheric dome on one side that makes the air breathable to most species. Mark sets them down right next to a supply station so that they can stock up before their meeting time arrives, and Jaehyun volunteers to keep an eye on the ship while the others get a chance to stretch their legs.

 

“But can I get _these_ chips, Cap? Just a little sympathy food?”

 

Which, in retrospect, may not have been the best idea.

 

“You can pick one, as long as you don’t give Mark any ideas.”

 

Donghyuck shoves the bag into Taeyong’s arms before taking off back down one of the aisles, probably to disobey a direct order. At least he’s consistent. In the meantime, Taeyong drifts over to where Taeil is sorting through a pile of discarded scrap.

 

“Find anything for the bridge doors?”

 

Taeil pulls out one contraption, squinting at it before throwing it back into the pile. “Halfway there. There’s plenty of the wiring we need, but those pirates really did a number on the control panel. I need a specific type of switch to complete the circuit.”

 

“Ask the shopkeeper if he has one. I’d say we have under ten minutes until we need to head over for our appointment.”

 

“Fair point.” Taeil brushes dirt and sawdust off the knees of his pants as he stands. “See if you can corral everyone at checkout while I ask.”

 

Somehow, Taeyong manages to round up the other three members of the crew. Sicheng is easy. Mark would have been, too, but Donghyuck had managed to turn him into a rowdy, laughing mess in the last few minutes. Still, they all do make it to the counter to wait on the shopkeeper.

 

“What, did we catch him on his lunch break?” Donghyuck asks, annoyed, though that’s probably more about him wanting to dig into his chips.

 

“I asked him about a part. He had to go get it from the back,” Taeil clarifies.

 

“If you say so.”

 

They wait a few more minutes before the man reappears with an object in his hand. Taeyong doesn’t know what to make of the mess of wires and plastic, but it must be what Taeil’s looking for judging by the enthusiastic thanks he gives.

 

“Will that be all?” the shopkeeper asks them.

 

“Everything here. Just ignore it if these two try to add more snack food.”

 

The man doesn’t even crack a grin. Taeyong flushes, embarrassed, but Taeil elbows him to give a pity-smile that makes it much less awkward. Taeyong’s only problem now is that the shopkeeper seems to be taking his sweet time scanning each item in, fingers typing codes into his computer painstakingly slow.

 

“Sir, I don’t mean to rush you, but we have an appointment to make. If you could just wrap up our checkout…”

 

“Of course. Almost there.”

 

He doesn’t move any faster. Taeyong’s foot taps impatiently on the floor of its own accord. On his left, he can see Sicheng’s eyes narrow, suddenly on alert. When Sicheng walks purposefully over to the windows, the shopkeeper begins to protest.

 

“I’ll need all of you to remain here while I verify your items,” he says much too quickly. There’s an edge to his voice Taeyong hadn’t noticed before. “Please return to the counter.”

 

Sicheng ignores him entirely, expression darkening when he looks through the glass. When he turns back around, his gaze is full-on stormy. “There are armed men filing out from a ship that just landed. It has Zadra-Seevo’s sigil.”

 

Taeyong only blinks. In that instant, Sicheng is back across the room and holding a gun to the shopkeeper’s head.

 

“Don’t kill me!” the man begs. “I didn’t want to do it on principle, but when those men came and offered me the that much money...I have children. A wife! What was I supposed to do?”

 

Sicheng’s face is stone. His finger doesn’t move from the trigger. It’s Mark who steps forward to lay a gentle hand on the other’s shoulder, imploring, “Don’t kill him. You’re better than that.”

 

For a long moment, Taeyong braces himself for the shot. But Sicheng’s internal debate doesn’t end how he expects. The assassin holsters his weapon with an icy “I hope it was worth it,” stepping back.

 

And not a moment too soon. When Taeyong cracks open the front door, he can see Zadra’s goons circling in. Soon their escape will be cut off entirely.

 

“Run as fast as you can to the ship and have Jaehyun prep for takeoff,” Taeyong tells the others. “Go!”

 

He swings the door wide open, and they take off in a mad sprint for the landing ramp. The initial element of surprise almost makes it seem like they’re going to make it. Then Mark goes down at the front of the pack with a red flag protruding from his neck ━ tranquilizer darts.

 

They don’t stand a chance. The gap between the door and the ramp seems to grow impossibly wider as the others fall. Taeyong can see Jaehyun dragged from the ship kicking and yelling, defiant to the end. It seems almost cruel that Taeyong has to bear witness to their failure through its completion, dart hitting his shoulder steps before his destination. A sudden fatigue spreads throughout his system.

 

Even before he hits the ground, his world goes black.

 

☾

 

Taeyong wakes up in a dark room, an ache still pulsing at the base of his skull from the effects of the tranquilizer darts. That and the darkness make it hard to get his bearings, but his eyes do eventually adjust. Crossed iron bars, cement floors, no windows...holding cells, then. A prison. And not a halfway decent one either, if the cold and the cobwebs are anything to go by.

 

Movement catches Taeyong's eye beyond the bars. He can see the other crew members beginning to stir, at least able to make out Donghyuck and Jaehyun in the cells on either side of his own. There's no cell across from him ━ only more of the same gray cement. And beneath his feet, if he concentrates hard enough, Taeyong can feel a familiar thrumming, the steady vibrations giving him a valuable piece of insight: they're still aboard a ship. Wherever Zadra intends on meeting them, they're not yet to their destination. They might still have a chance.

 

"Let's make sure we're all still accounted for," Taeyong calls out to the others. "When I say your name, let me know if you're okay. Taeil?"

 

"Across the room and to your left. No injuries."

 

"Jaehyun?"

 

"I'm fine."

 

"Donghyuck?"

 

"My pride is bruised, but the rest of me is flawless."

 

"Fantastic. Mark?"

 

The name echoes against the walls before fading into silence. There's no response.

 

"Mark, you there?"

 

This isn't good. Things have gotten dangerously out of hand, and now more than ever is the time to stick together. If Mark isn't here, then where? Taeyong has a sudden flashback to the offer Taeil had told them about and feels something icy run down his spine.

 

"Why would they keep him somewhere else?" Jaehyun asks. "It's not like they'd just leave him behind. He _does_ have to be captured."

 

"I can guess why," Donghyuck admits.

 

Everyone that can see Donghyuck from their cell turns his way, Taeyong included, and he looks surprisingly uneasy with the attention. But from the set of his jaw and the firmness of his declaration, it seems he's made up his mind to speak.

 

"It's not really my story to tell," he starts, explaining the hesitation. "But if it'll help us find him...Mark's dad is Zadra's nemesis. Like, number one thorn in his side, ruin his day, definitely wants to kill him least favorite person."

 

What? It almost seems laughable to consider, but Donghyuck isn't smiling. And it would explain a lot: Mark's talent for flying at such a young age, why he was always being targeted, that damn offer...

 

"Mark lost contact with him years ago," Donghyuck continues, "when he ran away from home. Youngho helped him escape to the races because he thought it would be safe for the short-term. Mark knew his dad was a criminal and didn't want anything to do with that life. He still doesn't like to talk about him."

 

"What are the chances Zadra hates his father enough to use Mark as leverage?"

 

"Guaranteed. I'm guessing Mark will stay a hostage until his dad pays Zadra's price or Zadra kills him just to be evil. So, uh, we should probably be worried. Very."

 

Taeil swears. "I'm an idiot to not have thought along those lines, especially after I was sent the offer. We shouldn't have brought him this close to Zadra ━ or even the threat of Zadra ━ in the first place."

 

"Offer?" Donghyuck asks accusingly.

 

"Zadra wanted to trade Mark for our freedom. It didn't make sense until just now, and I didn't want it spreading around the crew. Not that it made a difference."

 

Taeyong can't see Taeil, but that doesn't stop him from insisting, "This wasn't your fault. Instead of blaming ourselves, we need to focus on getting out of here and getting Mark to safety."

 

"And what do you expect us to do?" Taeil snaps back, clearly at his limit. "It seems to me like the only logical choice for Zadra is to make an example of us for anyone else who thinks about crossing him. We're going to be killed."

 

"We'll find a way out."

 

"Out of the sealed iron cages, of course. And if we don't?"

 

For that, Taeyong has no response.

 

☾

 

On the second day, a guard comes to visit their cells, bringing them each a half-loaf of stale bread and a cup of water. It's a pitiful meal, but they still scarf it down like it's a feast, stomachs stretched too tight to object.

 

Taeil is either more scared than he let on, or simply want to prove a point, because he gets the guard's attention just before he leaves. "What do you want with us?" he asks point-blank. "Are we all going to be executed?"

 

"Executed?" The guard laughs, the sound leaving him in a series of loud snorts. "Of course not."

 

A wave of relief runs through the crew until the man's voice turns cold.

 

"Saying 'executed' implies it'll be quick and painless. By the time Zadra's finished, you'll be begging for death."

 

He leaves with another fading peal of cruel laughter, and Taeil doesn't give Taeyong any hint of 'I told you so' to break the silence. Their earlier exchange suddenly seems childish and insignificant in the face of what appears to be certain doom.

 

Taeyong doesn't fall asleep that night.

 

☾

 

On the third day, Jaehyun is overcome with a coughing fit. He curls up in the corner of his cell and weathers the steadily worsening attacks, looking like death. Taeil tries to express his concern, tries to ask how he can help, but Jaehyun gives him nothing. He's either ignoring the other man or too sick to notice the questions.

 

When the guard comes to bring their meals, he's not nearly as understanding. "Pipe down with that cough!" he demands, and when it's clear that isn't going to happen, "Who's the closest thing to a doctor here?"

 

Before anyone can voice Taeil's name, Jaehyun shows the most response he's had in the past few hours. He makes a vague gesture in the direction of Taeyong's cell, and in a few rough motions he's yanked out of his cell and relocked inside of Taeyong's.

 

"Don't let him die." It takes a moment for Taeyong to process that the words are directed at him. "You're all useless as corpses. A shame."

 

He leaves with a string of incomprehensible grumbling. Taeyong turns his attention to Jaehyun, and almost immediately, the other man's coughing ceases entirely.

 

Taeyong isn't alone in his confusion; he sees Donghyuck peering at them curiously through the bars, hears Taeil ask, "Everything alright?"

 

"I'm fine," Jaehyun answers. His voice is still raspy from all the coughing, but it's good to hear him speaking again. Come to think of it, if he _could_ still speak this whole time...

 

"You were never sick, were you?" Taeyong asks.

 

Finally, Jaehyun looks at him. Something tightens in Taeyong's throat when he realizes how long it's been since he's seen those eyes without the walls that have grown between them. Nostalgia, maybe. A wish for an earlier, easier time.

 

Softly, afraid he might break the spell, Taeyong asks, "Aren't we fighting?"

 

Jaehyun does look away then, but it seems more out of regret than anger. "Not anymore. Now shut up and cuddle with me; I'm freezing."

 

The floor of the cell is freezing cold, Jaehyun's skin just as icy. But as Jaehyun pulls Taeyong down and tucks him against his chest, that cold barely registers. Tension Taeyong didn't know he'd been holding onto bleeds from his limbs and out onto the concrete, banished from where they're curled up together. He has his best friend back. They're not broken beyond repair, after all.

 

Taeyong's head moves with the rise and fall of Jaehyun's chest, nearly lulled to sleep by the constant motion. He's minutes away from drifting off when a voice sounds very quietly above his head.

 

"I'm so sorry," Jaehyun apologizes. His fingers trace hesitant lines across Taeyong's back. "I haven't been acting like myself. Yelling at you, pushing you away, acting like a total jackass...you didn't deserve any of it."

 

What can he say to that? Taeyong has been replaying their interactions on loop, wondering where he went wrong to make Jaehyun so uncomfortable. At first, maybe, he'd allowed himself to imagine it ━ if things were different, if there really was something more between them. His heart had admittedly fluttered at the possibility. Then all he'd wanted was for Jaehyun to stop acting like a stranger.

 

"It was wrong, what I said to you before," Jaehyun continues. "About you confusing me? I think it was more of me being confused about myself. Suddenly all our memories, all our conversations...they all seemed different? I felt like I was ruining everything.”

 

He sighs. "At some point, of course, I realized I _was_ ruining everything by acting the way I was. I'm not about to lose the most important person in my life just because I couldn't get my shit together. Now I think I've mostly come to terms with everything."

 

"So you do...you know...have feelings for me?" Maybe it's not what he should be taking away from the apology, but there's that hope again, fluttering inside his chest.

 

"Um...yeah? Was that detailed explanation of my gay awakening not clear enough?"

 

The only reason Taeyong doesn't hit him is because he's too busy craning his neck to steal glances through the bars at Donghyuck, hoping he hasn't heard Jaehyun's raised voice. The young mercenary hasn't said anything about their current situation, but still...

 

"Keep it down, you idiot, before you embarrass both of us."

 

He means it as a joke, but Jaehyun must take it the wrong way. His hold on Taeyong falters as he backtracks, "Sorry, I didn't mean to━ It's okay if you don't feel the same way. I don't expect you to. This was just something I wanted to put out in the open, no more secrets and all of that." He pauses. "I mean...do you? Maybe feel that way about me?"

 

Taeyong hides his smile in the fabric of the other's shirt, feeling the nervous stutter of Jaehyun's heartbeat against his own skin. "Maybe I do," he admits. "Assuming the imminent possibility of us both dying isn't clouding my judgement."

 

The laugh that bubbles out of Jaehyun is hardly a whispered breath. Taeyong feels it all the same. "Well, how about this: if we do make it out alive, away from that imminent possibility, maybe we can act on that. Deal?"

 

A warm glow fills Taeyong's insides at the words, banishing the last traces of cold from his body. The fluttering in his chest calms to a solid, steady pulse that feels like a missing piece sliding back into place. His smile grows wider.

 

"Deal."

 

☾

 

On the fourth day, they're hit with real illness. Donghyuck retches into the corner of his cell on loop, pale-faced and unable to keep down the food that the guard delivers for more than a few seconds. Said guard grimaces in distaste at the mess Donghyuck’s made before his eyes narrow.

 

“Oh, so you’re all playing games now, are you?” he accuses. “If that’s the way you want to do this, then fine. No bucket for this one, no shuffling around to pretend-play doctor, nothing.”

 

Taeyong catches the guilty look on Jaehyun’s face, and he’s not the only one looking at the other man in his cell. The guard’s gaze follows the same path, suspicion increasing tenfold in his gaze.

 

“In fact…”

 

The guard unlocks and yanks open the cell door in two short motions. Jaehyun manages to give Taeyong’s hand one last squeeze before he’s forcefully thrown back into his own cell.

 

When the guard stalks back to the upper level, Taeyong can still hear the echo of his cell door closing. The sudden violent motions had admittedly shaken him up. It takes a moment for him to come back down to earth and hear the very present sound of Donghyuck continuing to eject the contents of his stomach.

 

“I’m sorry, Donghyuck,” Jaehyun says miserably. Taeyong can make out a sliver of his face through the multiple sets of bars. “If I’d known you’d be this sick, I wouldn’t have lied. Your food bad or something?”

 

Donghyuck spits one last time onto the floor, backing away from the mess but not turning to face anyone else. “No, this is just sucky timing,” he admits. “Jungwoo underestimated how long my stupid stab wound would take to heal. I’ve been rationing his morphine out for longer than he wanted, and...well, I guess going cold turkey is one way to kick a dependence, isn’t it?”

 

Taeyong can’t even bring himself to force a smile at the youngest’s gallows humor. He feels Donghyuck’s revelation as another crack in their already fragile state of existence, one that’s teetering on the edge of total breakdown. How are they supposed to ever move forward, when every new strategy seems to bring them new setbacks?

 

 _You’re their captain_ , he reminds himself. _Act like it. Despair is obviously getting you nowhere_.

 

“Alright, I’ve had it with this place,” Taeyong says firmly. “I need escape plans. The first thing that pops into your head. Jaehyun?”

 

“Maybe if we provoke the guard, we can get him to open a cell long enough for one of us to get out and get the keys.”

 

“Not bad, but we have to rely on him getting angry enough and one of us actually being able to overpower him. Taeil?”

 

“Try seducing him and getting him to set us free, I don’t know.” At Taeyong’s unamused silence, he adds, “I really don’t have anything.”

 

Taeyong decides to give him the benefit of the doubt and not reply. They’ve all been stretched thin. “Sicheng?”

 

“Wait,” Donghyuck interrupts. “I know what we’re gonna do. Hear me out.”

 

Three sets of eyes look expectantly through the bars of the cells. Donghyuck pauses with a sharp intake of breath, hunched over like he’s going to vomit again, but the wave seems to pass.

 

“Okay. Here’s the plan…”

 

☾

 

They wait another two days to let the guard’s suspicion die down. It’s a risk letting themselves get closer to Zadra, but better that than sabotaging their best hope for escape. Taeyong is just glad either this ship is too small or their route has too much air traffic for them to have jumped to hyperspace the moment they were captured.

 

The guard’s footsteps sound near the bottom of the stairs. Taeyong takes a breath. Their half-loaf of bread and cup of water is distributed one by one, and the guard moves out of Taeyong’s field of vision.

 

Donghyuck angrily whirls toward Taeyong’s cell, shouting, “What did you say!?”

 

It’s time. No turning back now.

 

“You heard me!” Taeyong shouts back. “Or did your ego get in the way of that, too?”

 

“Keep it down!” the guard snaps at the two of them, but halfway through the command, Taeyong feels a splash of liquid hit him in the face. It drips down his expression of genuine surprise, running rivulets down his shirt.

 

Oh, so it’s going to be like that, then?

 

“If you were just doing this for the money, Donghyuck, then you shouldn’t have been stupid enough to join up in the first place! No one in their right mind would have agreed just to make a quick fortune ━ there is no fortune!”

 

“Like I knew that going in! You tricked me into joining a lost cause and now you want to blame me for feeling duped!”

 

The guard strikes the bars of Donghyuck’s cell. “What the hell don’t you two understand about keeping it down!?”

 

“We didn’t trick you into anything, you greedy bastard!”

 

“Say that to my face!”

 

Taeyong presses his face up against the bars, snarling, “I said━!”

 

He doesn’t get to finish. Donghyuck’s hands shoot between the bars to wrap around Taeyong’s neck, cutting off his air. And Donghyuck is going to have a _talking_ to later, because when they’d agreed on this, he hadn’t meant for the mercenary to ACTUALLY CHOKE HIM.

 

At least the strangled noises that come from Taeyong’s mouth are convincing. It’s probably because he’s about to black out, but hey, he’ll take any sort of silver lining.

 

The guard suddenly seems to remember that Zadra wants them taken in alive. He barges into Donghyuck’s cell with a yell, and Donghyuck moves like lightning. He releases Taeyong’s neck, thankfully, and throws himself on the guard’s back when the man turns to close the cell door. His legs and arms wrap around the man’s waist and neck like vices until the man’s eyes roll back into his head. Out cold.

 

Donghyuck swipes the key from the unconscious guard’s belt with a flourish and a triumphant grin. “It worked!”

 

Considering whose idea this was in the first place, Taeyong really wishes Donghyuck didn’t sound surprised.

 

From there, it’s child’s play to spring the others from their cells and lock the guard back inside one of them ━ Sicheng’s suggestion that Donghyuck had seconded with far too much glee. Taeyong’s not letting him off the hook for his poor throat’s sake. Still, they’re finally free.

 

“Good job, everyone,” Taeyong tells the group. “Now all we have to do is get to the cockpit and overwhelm the pilots. Our favorite guard here didn’t have a weapon on him, but hopefully we can find an armory on the way. Ready?”

 

Four determined yeses meet Taeyong’s question. He carefully leads them up the steps to the main body of the ship. There are more hallways than he expected, but he still knows his destination: directly away from where they’ve come. A holding area like the prison is always on the back end of a ship this size, opposite of the cockpit. If he can keep his internal compass pointed━

 

Voices. Taeyong quickly takes a path forward, weaving in and out of hallways and past closed doors. Is he going in circles? They should have reached the bridge by now, if his estimates were correct. He’d seen the ship from the outside before their capture, after all.

 

There are more of Zadra’s goons on approach. Taeyong can hear their voices growing steadily closer. But when he turns the next corner, no next hallway greets him, only a dead end. They’re boxed in. He jiggles the knob of one door, two, to no avail. This isn’t good. If Zadra is alerted when they’re discovered━

 

A tap on his shoulder. Jaehyun is gesturing to a door at the end of the dead-end turn where the others are already slipping in.

 

 _Thank you_ , Taeyong mouths silently.

 

The door shuts behind them with a quiet _click_. The lighting in here is faint, but at least there hadn’t been anyone yelling at them when they ducked inside. They crouch near the door and hold their breaths as two pairs of footsteps idle outside their door, Taeyong trying to make out the miniscule image he can see in the keyhole.

 

 _Any other room but this one, please_.

 

The muffled conversation ceases. One set of footsteps walks away. A door opens and shuts further down the hall. Silence.

 

Finally, Taeyong can pull air back into his lungs. He’s about to whisper that they need to leave before others come, but a low groan from behind him stops the command in its tracks.

 

“Oh, god…” Jaehyun chokes out.

 

When Taeyong turns around, eyes now adjusted to the low lighting, he sees a scene ripped straight from a nightmare. Chained to a slanted board and surrounded by tables of sharp, terrifying instruments, is none other than Nakamoto Yuta. It’s almost too much to take in at once: the discolored bruises and patterned scars, the finger missing from one hand, the horrible bloody scar over his left eye that’s sealed shut probably for good.

 

Taeil is murmuring under his breath too softly for Taeyong to make out the words, but his horrified expression says enough. Taeyong himself can’t look at the scene before him without feeling nauseous. He’d been furious with Yuta, nearly shot him out of anger, but this...Yuta didn’t deserve this kind of torture. How could someone bring themselves to be this blatantly cruel?

 

With another groan, Yuta stirs. His one good eye lights up with some spark of recognition when he sees them, but it’s more bitter recognition than surprise. “Fuck,” he swears, voice hoarse. “Hallucinating again.”

 

Taeyong doesn’t think he’s ever heard that level of defeat in someone’s words before. It makes guilt unwillingly flare up in his chest, pressing against that wall of hurt and anger.

 

“It’s really us,” Jaehyun says, regaining some of his composure. “Not that we were looking for you, but here we are.”

 

“That’s new,” Yuta notes flatly. “Normally you’re all either here to kill me or rescue me. Depends if I’m having a bad day or a horrible one.”

 

Jaehyun doesn’t seem to have a response for that. He steps forward but hesitates, knowing what he has to do but not willing to go through with it. Fortunately, Sicheng is. He crosses the gap, places one hand on a patch of skin between wounds, and looks directly into Yuta’s eyes.

 

“We’re here, and we’re very real.”

 

Yuta looks between the point of contact and Sicheng’s face four different times before the reality of it sinks in.

 

“Oh,” he says, like all the wind has been knocked out of him. The glaze over his eyes has begun to fade, revealing the tangle of fear and shock that lies beneath. “You...what are you all doing here?”

 

“We’re here to find Mark,” Jaehyun says pointedly, and guilt immediately blooms on Yuta’s face.

 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ve replayed that day in my head over and over again, and I know I made the wrong choice. Please━” He chokes on his own words for a moment, letting out a series of dry coughs. “Please take me with you. I can help you find him ━ I know where they keep their favorite prisoners. I can help you navigate the ship. I can help you fight. Well, maybe not that, but…”

 

“How big is it?”

 

“What?”

 

“How big is the ship?” Taeyong asks him. “I tried getting to the cockpit, but the measurements don’t make sense for a small fighter.”

 

“A fighter?” Yuta shakes his head, though he grimaces from the movement. “No, this is one of Zadra’s biggest ships, flown by one of his top lieutenants. If you want to escape, you’ll need to make it to the hangar. I can take you there, too.”

 

Taeyong half expects someone else to respond, but when he looks around, he finds that all eyes are on him. Yuta looks a few moments away from full-on begging. That wall is still there inside Taeyong’s chest, standing firm, but he knows he can’t leave the other man here like this. He’s not that cruel.

 

“Fine, you can come,” he agrees. “Sicheng, see if you can get those restraints unlocked. Donghyuck, will any of these work as weapons?”

 

“Already on it, Cap.” Donghyuck grabs assorted knives for the crew, giving Yuta one last nasty glare. “Let’s go.”

 

Frankly, it’s a miracle that they don’t set off any alarms. Jaehyun and Taeil help Yuta limp along as he leads them through the ship’s many corridors to the second prison. Part of Taeyong is curious about why Yuta knows his way around at all, but then he figures he probably doesn’t want to know. Besides, what really matters right now is getting to Mark.

 

That being said, not raising alarms doesn’t mean there aren’t any more goons roaming around. Sicheng and Donghyuck quietly dispatch the few that they come across before the men can make a sound, taking their sidearms to add to their own arsenals. When they arrive at the entrance to the prison, those guns come in handy: a skirmish breaks out, but the others remain in cover while the dynamic duo work together to take their enemies out in quick succession. It’s a glaring reminder for everyone that they have two highly skilled killers on their side, even despite Donghyuck’s still-fading sickness.

 

The key to the cells is on one of the fallen goons. Donghyuck unhooks it from the man’s belt and hands it over to Taeyong, letting him lead the way into the prison. Taeyong wants to feel relieved when he steps in and sees a familiar set of antennae, but instead his heart drops to the floor.

 

Mark is curled up in the corner of the nearest cell, shaking. Bruises and cuts litter his skin, telling a tale of yet another undeserved punishment. When Mark looks up at their approach, there’s a terror in his expression that only fades when he recognizes who it is.

 

“Mark?” Taeyong asks softly.

 

That’s all it takes for the pilot’s eyes to water. Taeyong unlocks the cell and goes to hold him immediately, knowing just how he likes to be comforted: not just with words, not with anything less than a blanket of safety and reassurance. He cradles Mark in his arms while the other cries, murmuring some modicum of comfort in his ear. Donghyuck is the only other one who dares to approach, gently patting Mark’s head. Despite his crying, Mark reaches for Donghyuck’s hand to squeeze it once, acknowledging the concern.

 

Then the alarm sounds. Logically, Taeyong knows that it’s about time. Things had been going too perfectly. It still hurts him to have to haul Mark to his feet and wipe the tears from his cheeks, breaking the moment. “We have to leave before they surround us,” he says apologetically.

 

Mark sniffs, running the back of his sleeve across his face. “Okay. Thank you for coming for me, and sorry about...being a mess.”

 

“You don’t need to apologize. And I’d never leave a friend behind.”

 

The grateful smile Mark gives him is much less watery, which is a good sign. Then his eyes focus somewhere over Taeyong’s shoulder, and that smile evaporates entirely.

 

“What is _he_ doing here?”

 

It’s supposed to come across as angry, but to Taeyong it just sounds scared and hurt. He feels like an idiot. Why hadn’t it occurred to him how Mark would react to seeing the man who nearly succeeded in trading him into captivity? That should have been his very first thought.

 

“Yuta led us here to find you,” Taeyong says. He tries not to let it sound too defensive. “Now he’s going to bring us to the hangar so we can get out.”

 

The darkness in Mark’s expression doesn’t disappear, but he doesn’t object. That’s probably as much as Taeyong can ask for. Mark falls into step with Donghyuck and Sicheng, who both walk just one protective step ahead of him as they continue with their escape. The alarm’s high-pitched blaring does wonders to hasten everyone’s progress. Even Yuta grits his teeth and double-times his limp.

 

As it turns out, the hangar holds a special surprise for them: their ship. Taeyong’s heart soars when he sees it in one of the docking clamps. Zadra’s men must have taken it as some type of trophy or source for spare parts, but now it just might work in their favor instead.

 

“This is the control panel,” Yuta tells them once he’s caught his breath, gesturing to the monitor in front of them. “All of the ships are locked behind Zadra’s security if you want to release one docking clamp in particular.”

 

“On it,” Donghyuck says. He pokes around the system with a few initial keystrokes before he starts his magic. Taeyong doesn’t finish counting to ten before the mechanism around their ship begins to disengage. It’s impressive, even for Donghyuck.

 

“There’s our ride. Everyone ready to go?” Taeyong asks.

 

The crew starts to move forward with a chorus of agreement, but one voice cuts through the rest, halting them in their tracks.

 

“Are we really bringing _him_ along?”

 

The spots across Mark’s nose have taken on a deeper, darker tone, almost like his anger is manifesting itself on skin. He’s not giving off the emotion chemically, but he doesn’t need to. The message is clear as day.

 

Yuta’s eyes flicker between crew members uncertainly, trying to gauge their reactions. When no one speaks, the blood drains from his face.

 

“Don’t leave me here. Please, I led you to the prison, I led you to your ship. If they take me back…”

 

He lurches forward, falling out of Jaehyun and Taeil’s hold. Taeyong’s hand darts to his knife before he realizes that the other man isn’t attacking him ━ he’s kneeling, forehead pressed against the floor. This isn’t right. Yuta shouldn’t be _bowing_ to him. It makes Taeyong feel as awful as the day that he’d held a gun to the other man’s head.

 

“Please,” Yuta begs him. “I know I don’t deserve it, but please take me with you.”

 

Taeyong looks to Mark, who turns away. He looks to Jaehyun, who gives him a serious nod. And he knows what he has to do.

 

“Bring him along,” he tells Taeil, “but keep a close eye on him. He can stay in Containment.”

 

“Thank you,” Yuta says, nearly too choked up to get the words out.

 

Taeyong boards the ship without giving him a response.

 

 

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

 

 

 

No one relaxes until they’re far from the vessel that had held them captive. Taeil makes three different jumps through hyperspace to avoid being followed. Mark keeps asking if they’d rather have him step in, but both Taeil and Taeyong are firm that he’s in no condition to fly. Their intention had been for him to get some rest. Instead, he helps Donghyuck sweep the ship for any bugs or trackers, which at least is less stressful.

 

After that third jump, Taeil finally engages the autopilot. He keeps Taeyong and Jaehyun on the bridge and seals the doors. It’s going to be _that_ type of meeting.

 

“So,” Taeil starts. “That didn’t exactly go as planned.”

 

“Any chance our broker was also in on the ambush?” Jaehyun asks.

 

“I’d be shocked. My contact isn’t an overly trusting person. But I won’t be able to call in another favor anytime soon ━ it’s a blow to his reputation for him to put his name on the line and for us not to show up at the meeting.”

 

“Even if you tell him it was Zadra’s fault, not ours?”

 

Taeil grimaces. “He won’t take my messages. It’ll be at least a few weeks until he cools off enough to listen.”

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Taeyong tells him. “Having you call in one favor was more than enough. We just have to keep pushing forward. If an exchange isn’t going to work...what are our chances of actually making it out of an assault on the main depot alive?”

 

“Slim to none,” Jaehyun says immediately.

 

“None,” Taeil seconds.

 

“That’s what I was thinking. So an attack is clearly out of the question. Does that mean we’re back to square one, thinking of ways to actually get the money and hoping Zadra won’t kill us after?”

 

Taeil’s eyes flicker to the doors for a moment. “Since it’s just us…” he says uncertainly. “The last thing I want is for Mark to feel like we’re taking advantage of him, but we know for sure that he’s a link to Zadra. If his father could be convinced to help us…”

 

“The enemy of my enemy,” Jaehyun mutters. “He probably doesn’t even know where to look for his father if they’re as estranged as Donghyuck says.”

 

“No, but we’d still need to ask his permission before we open up old wounds. Taeyong, what do you think?”

 

“I don’t know,” Taeyong says honestly. “Let’s give him another day to get back on his feet, and then...maybe. I’ll try to bring it up and see how he reacts.”

 

Taeil nods. “Fair enough. If it doesn’t go over well, we’ll try to think of something else.”

 

Taeyong has no idea what that ‘something else’ would be. He suspects the other two are thinking the same. But that’s a bridge to cross another day.

 

“That just leaves one more elephant in the room, then,” Taeyong points out. “Yuta’s in Sicheng’s old cell?”

 

“I brought him down there,” Taeil confirms. “He didn’t say a word. Just took a seat in the corner and nodded off. Donghyuck and Sicheng are taking turns on watch.”

 

“And you’re okay with that?” Jaehyun asks rather incredulously.

 

“It’s not like Sicheng has any attachment to him. And Yuta has nothing to offer in exchange for letting him go.”

 

“I suppose.” Jaehyun doesn’t sound so sure.

 

“He’s earned our trust,” Taeyong says in Sicheng’s defense. “If he was really planning on betraying us, he would have taken off and left us stranded on Zadra’s ship. And that’s not even taking into account how close he’s gotten to Mark and Donghyuck.”

 

“Alright, true,” Jaehyun concedes. “At least if you’re wrong, I can maybe get in a quick ‘I told you so’ before we’re murdered.”

 

“Good to know you have your priorities straight. Oh, and Taeil? How are Yuta’s injuries?”

 

The look on the other man’s face is less than encouraging.

 

“Most things just need some of my help and a lot of time. I’ll treat him twice a day until I’m sure he’s stable. But some things...those aren’t going to heal.”

 

 _Like how some things can’t be forgiven_ , Taeyong things, but adamantly keeps his mouth shut. It’s an ugly thought.

 

“Do what you can. Once he’s back on his feet, then we can really talk about what we’re going to do.”

 

“Just promise to give him a chance,” Jaehyun insists. “Maybe he’ll prove that we can trust him again. Clearly, he’s not on Zadra’s side.”

 

“But he was trying to be,” Taeyong counters, and the others look away uncomfortably. Time to wrap this up. “Let’s get some sleep while we can. I’ll see you two in a solid eight hours.”

 

He moves toward the doors to leave, but Taeil’s voice stops him.

 

“Wait. Taeyong, can I talk to you a minute? In private?”

 

Jaehyun ducks out with a brief goodbye. When Taeyong turns to give Taeil his full attention, he half-expects him to be angry. Instead, he looks deflated, shoulders slumped and head hung low. The sliding doors hiss back shut.

 

“Everything okay?” Taeyong asks, concerned.

 

“Not yet. I wanted to apologize to you for what happened in the prison. I let fear get into my head, and I lashed out when you were trying to help. I’m sorry.”

 

This trend of everyone apologizing to him has really got to stop. It’s not as if Taeyong hasn’t made his fair share of mistakes.

 

“I didn’t take it personally,” he reassures Taeil. “It was my fault you got pulled back into this life in the first place, so really, I should be the one saying sorry. Besides, it’s good to have someone who disagrees with me sometimes.”

 

“As long as I’m constructive about it,” Taeil adds for him.

 

“And never tell me to seduce a prison guard again.”

 

Taeil looks mildly horrified. “I was _not_ in my right mind.”

 

“But you made it out, and we’re still friends. There’s just one more thing I ask for.” Taeyong holds his arms out wide. “Apology hug.”

 

“Taeyong.”

 

“I’m not moving.”

 

Taeil makes a show of it, roughhousing Taeyong into the hug and prodding him in the sides. But there’s still a smile on his face, and that’s all Taeyong wanted to see. He leaves after making Taeil promise to leave the autopilot on and really get a good night’s rest, heading back to his room. Taeyong hasn’t been this excited to sleep in a real bed since that smuggling stunt gone wrong five years ago.

 

But sleep will have to wait a little longer. A nervous-looking Jaehyun is sitting on the edge of his bed, eyes darting up when Taeyong walks in.

 

“Hey.”

 

“Hey…”

 

Right. How could Taeyong have forgotten? Very quickly, he shuts the door behind him and takes a seat next to Jaehyun. This is...a little strange. Taeyong doesn’t recall ever being this awkward around someone he’s known so long. Then again, he’s never felt this way about someone he’s known so long.

 

“So, we actually made it out of there alive,” Jaehyun supplies.

 

“They just can’t seem to kill us. We’re like cockroaches.”

 

Amusement flits over Jaehyun’s face before it slides back into a nervous twist. “Listen…” He trails off, like he doesn’t know how to continue. That actually makes Taeyong feel a bit heartsick.

 

“We’re still best friends,” he promises. “You can tell me anything.”

 

Jaehyun’s laugh is more strained than usual. He shakes his head at his own behavior. “You’re right. What am I doing?” He takes a breath. “Okay. So. Not gonna lie, I’m still adjusting to...looking at you differently? Like, instead of ‘this is my best friend’, it’s ‘this is someone really attractive who I’d like to date’, and that’s...different.”

 

Taeyong knows exactly what he means. He’d felt something very similar after Jaehyun’s outburst before he’d come to terms with it, though everything else going on had mostly kept him distracted. Having this moment to breathe makes feelings like that loom larger.

 

“It’s not like those two things are exclusive,” Taeyong settles on. “You can be my best friend and also want to date me.”

 

“I really didn’t mean to say that out loud. At least, not yet.”

 

Taeyong grins at him. “I think it’s cute.”

 

“Well, then...nevermind.” Jaehyun finally looks like he’s going to relax until his gaze drops back to his feet. “There’s one more thing, I guess,” he says carefully. “It’s not a big deal, but...I think I made it pretty obvious that I’ve traditionally been attracted to those of the, uh, female persuasion.”

 

“So you still don’t like that you find me attractive,” Taeyong says with a frown.

 

“No, that’s not it,” Jaehyun reassures him. “I moved past the whole identity crisis. I mean that I have zero experience being with another guy.”

 

“And, what, you think I do?”

 

Jaehyun’s face is cherry red. “Yes? Maybe? I don’t know! I just assumed, considering I’ve seen you at taverns and clubs across the galaxies for fifteen years. I’m sorry for thinking━”

 

Taeyong decides to take pity on him, taking his hand and saying gently, “Don’t stress out about it. You’re not _wrong_. But a lack of experience isn’t anything that research and practice can’t fix.”

 

“Practice, huh?”

 

“Shut up.” Now Taeyong is the one red in the face. “ _Anyway_. My point is that we don’t have to be this nervous around each other. It’s not some end-of-the-world thing. We can take it for a test run, and if it doesn’t work out, we can go right back to being just friends.”

 

It’s not something he’s made up on the spot. Taeyong had spent a long time in that cell thinking it over, weighing the consequences. In the end, he’d realized only one thing mattered: his heart was telling him yes. Sometimes the best advice was simply to listen.

 

Jaehyun squeezes Taeyong’s hand tighter, a look of relief on his face. “It seems too good to be true that we’re both so rational about this.”

 

“Yeah, well, once you hit a certain number of near-death experiences, it starts to put some things in perspective.”

 

For a long moment, they sit in silence. Taeyong almost thinks he should say something more. And then Jaehyun comes right out and asks, “So, what, are you going to kiss me now?”

 

His words are light, but Taeyong doesn’t have to look hard to see that he’s nervous about the prospect. It’s certainly a change, having Taeyong as the one with all the confidence between them. “Not if you don’t want me to,” he says earnestly.

 

The look he gets in return is far more comfortable, a mischievous smile playing across Jaehyun’s lips in a way that makes Taeyong’s breathing halt for the briefest of pauses.

 

“And if I do?”

 

Taeyong had been so focused on making sure that Jaehyun’s heart was in the right place, he’d almost let it fall to the wayside that he likes this man. A _lot_. And he’s beyond lucky to have those feelings returned.

 

Almost moving by itself, Taeyong’s free hand reaches out to cup the side of Jaehyun’s face, thumb tracing along one pronounced cheekbone. As he watches the other man’s eyes flutter shut, watches his lips purse just the slightest in anticipation, he’s struck by how beautiful Jaehyun really is. Beautiful, and somehow all his.

 

When their lips meet, Jaehyun doesn’t freeze like Taeyong expects. Instead, he melts, finally letting go of the anxiety that had plagued him before. Taeyong’s heart soars. The kiss is nothing earth-shattering, nothing life-changing. It’s a first doorway into this new world, an introduction. But it still gives Taeyong a swooping feeling in his stomach that’s strangely pleasant.

 

Maybe it’s not so bad for everything to change.

 

☾

 

To Taeyong’s surprise, Mark agrees to the request of going to his father for aid against Zadra. He’s clearly not the most comfortable with the whole crew knowing about his parentage, but insists that Donghyuck revealing it to assist with his rescue was an acceptable excuse.

 

“I’m okay with you asking him for help,” Mark says. “Assuming you can find him, I guess. I wouldn’t know where to start.”

 

Even with that obvious roadblock, it still seems like the best course of action. Mark’s father is a powerful criminal, if the stories are to be believed. His added help might be enough ━ either to make Zadra disappear for a while, or even for good.

 

Taeil’s main contact might be out of the equation for now, but that doesn’t mean he’s out of options. He gives Youngho a private call to ask for help in tracking down the criminal known as Boss Lee. Youngho spends the better part of a day monitoring his own communication channels, and though he can’t give them a current position, he can give them a lead: Tel’Koh.

 

Tel’Koh is one of the few remaining planets Taeyong’s heard of that still has a structured monarchy in place. The same royal family has maintained control for generations, so they’re clearly a resourceful group of individuals. And according to Sicheng, dangerous.

 

“I recognize the family name, because I’ve seen it on more than one contract through Eclipse,” Sicheng tells the crew. “It’s not luck that keeps them in power. Be wary.”

 

That level of potential danger narrows their options. Taeyong can’t bring Sicheng off the ship, because it seems likely that guild informants would be hidden amongst a frequent employer’s ranks. He can’t bring anyone not skilled in a firefight, in case things go south. When they touch down at the edge of crystal buildings and flowering greenery, he knows who he has to pick as his party of choice.

 

By the time he, Jaehyun, and Donghyuck gear up and walk down the boarding ramp, a group is already there to meet them. The Ysu almost look like normal humans, except for the agelessness on their faces that makes Taeyong feel like he’s looking at someone who’s lived hundreds of years in a 20-something-year-old’s body. It’s disconcerting.

 

One Ysu is dressed regally, with waves of charcoal-black hair cascading over her shoulders. She’s flanked on either side by a Ysu in a white robe and silver diadem ━ emissaries, if Sicheng had explained their appearance correctly. Quickly, Taeyong sinks to one knee in a deep bow, the others following his lead. He keeps his eyes cast to the ground, even as one of the emissaries addresses him directly.

 

“You are the captain of this vessel?”

 

“I am.”

 

“State your name and business.”

 

“Captain Lee Taeyong. My crew and I hoped you would have information on where we can find the Khrelak known as Boss Lee. We need to speak with him as soon as possible.”

 

A brief silence.

 

“Before we discuss this business,” the other emissary states, “we must discuss your tribute to the royal family Ayshule. There is no passage on Tel’Koh without tribute, as you are aware.”

 

“I am.”

 

 _There’s always a price to pay_ , Sicheng had warned. _And that price always changes_.

 

“A monetary tribute of no less than 50,000 credits will be sufficient to grant you passage.”

 

Another way forward he can’t afford. Taeyong wants to scream. Instead, he bows his head even lower, admitting, “We don’t have that amount to offer in credits. Is there some other way we can pay tribute?”

 

“I’m afraid━”

 

The objection is cut off, though by what Taeyong can’t say. He hears the vague sounds of whispering before silence creeps back in. A woman’s voice says coolly, “You may rise.”

 

The three of them slowly get to their feet. Taeyong wonders if he’s just signed their death warrants. The regal Ysu’s gaze rakes over each of them before she speaks again.

 

“You stand in the presence of Princess Ezelivia-Anayalise, Captain Lee Taeyong. I may have another solution. You are fortunate my siblings were not here in my stead; things would have ended much differently.”

 

“Thank you for your mercy, my lady.”

 

The princess inclines her head ever so slightly in acknowledgement. Her eyes are probing, calculating. Taeyong thinks she’s sizing him up before he realizes that he’s not the one she keeps looking at.

 

“Perhaps we could come to an arrangement,” she finally says. “I could waive a monetary tribute, if you let your servant boy stay at the palace tonight. Then you could have the information you seek.”

 

Taeyong doesn’t quite follow what she’s really asking until she adds, “I should like to possess such a pretty creature, if only temporarily” and Jaehyun goes rigid.

 

Oh. This is entirely not what Taeyong expected, but he knows there’s only one right answer. The princess isn’t asking.

 

The glance he exchanges with Jaehyun is brief. _Trust me_ , it says. _You’ll be safe_. Jaehyun doesn’t look any less uncomfortable, but he does nod.

 

“That’s a generous offer,” Taeyong finally says. “I will gladly accept your terms. Jaehyun has no objections.”

 

“Excellent.”

 

The emissaries move forward, each Ysu gripping onto one of Jaehyun’s arms. “You may remain here in your ship tonight,” the princess says before she turns to leave. “I will return him to you in the morning.”

 

Jaehyun is pulled away. He looks back one last time before he seems to disappear into the undergrowth with the Ysu, leaving Taeyong and Donghyuck alone.

 

“You really just...let her take him?” Donghyuck asks, sounding betrayed. “Cap, that’s…”

 

“We’re getting him out tonight,” Taeyong promises. “She won’t lay a hand on him. Not if I have anything to say about it.”

 

He doesn’t mean it in a jealous way. Taeyong has no misconceptions about the Ysu princess stealing Jaehyun’s affections. No, he just knows what coerced consent can do to a person, even when they think it’s for the greater good. His memories of Yuta on Nachanka are almost worse than those from Zadra’s warship. Even if it means losing their best lead, Taeyong won’t allow that to happen again.

 

Jaehyun’s counting on him.

 

☾

 

Jaehyun never wants to look at another castle in his life. He’s already sick of having to pretend like everything is fine and dandy when he was dragged here against his will, fed up with the stuffiness and snobbery that’s around every corner.

 

The emissaries had dropped him off here at one of the guest rooms near the servants’ quarters and left without another word. Three servants have come by to dress him in elegant fabrics, style his hair, draw black kohl under his eyes. This is the closest he’s ever been to being treated like royalty. But the fun of it is ruined when Jaehyun knows it’s a ruse to mask the fact that he’s a prisoner. He feels more like someone’s doll than a prince.

 

“Sir?” A servant knocks on the door. “You’re wanted in the dining hall.”

 

“I’ll be right down.”

 

She doesn’t move an inch. “I’ve been instructed to escort you, sir.”

 

The meaning behind her words is clear, and Jaehyun bristles at the pointed reminder that there are no true requests here, only commands. He has no freedom within these walls. Still, now isn’t the right time to fight against his current situation. Not when there’s still a mission that he fully intends on carrying out. He wordlessly follows the servant down to the lower floor.

 

The dining hall is huge, like everything else in the castle. A colorful array of foods is spread out across a long table, most of which Jaehyun can’t even begin to name. Only two chairs are pulled up to the table: one at the head, which the princess occupies, and one at the next spot to her left. Jaehyun lets out a deep breath before he takes his seat. When he looks back, the servant is gone.

 

The princess gives him a transparent smile. “Jaehyun,” she says, like she’s testing it out. “You’re human. Earthling?”

 

“Originally.”

 

“Good, then none of this should kill you. Help yourself.”

 

Jaehyun scoops two different dishes that look vaguely rice-based onto his plate and eats as slowly as possible. The less he consumes, the more likely she’ll be right. He’s not about to press his luck.

 

The princess doesn’t touch the food on her own plate. She keeps her eyes on Jaehyun as if he’s some sort of science experiment. Compared to their first meeting, she seems less hung up on being royalty, but definitely no less cold ━ and unsettling.

 

“Your captain...you’re not surprised he left you here with me?”

 

Jaehyun doesn’t like the way she makes his stay sound so definitive. “No, my lady.”

 

“But you’re close to him?”

 

“You could say that.”

 

Her eyes narrow to mocking slits. “Ah, I see. You’re his playtoy.”

 

“I...beg your pardon?”

 

“You follow his orders without question. Your interest in him clearly crosses some lines, and his reaction to my request also suggests some level of physical involvement. Yet he still gave you away. It follows, then: his plaything.”

 

There are a lot of choice words Jaehyun has for her right now. He grits his teeth, pokes at his alien rice, and says, “I suppose you’re right, my lady.”

 

“I grow weary of hearing ‘my lady’ this and ‘my lady’ that all day long. To you I will be Anaya from now on. Understood?”

 

“Yes, m━ Anaya.”

 

“Good boy.”

 

Jaehyun’s going to kill her. And Taeyong. Not necessarily in that order.

 

“You look so nervous. Am I that unbearable to be around?”

 

“No, of course not. I’m just taken aback by your extraordinary beauty from this close up.”

 

His dignity isn’t any good if he’s dead.

 

“You flatter me.” The princess’s smile is still too calculating for Jaehyun’s liking, but she doesn’t seem to think he’s laying it on too thick. “I’ve often been told I am the most plain out of my sisters.”

 

“Then those who say so must be blind, because I can’t imagine someone more elegant and…” _Shit._ “...radiant.”

 

“I like a man who can tell me exactly what I want to hear.”

 

“And I believe that you’re very good at getting what you want.”

 

“I’m good at having friends in high places.” The princess tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a piercing on the upper rim of cartilage. Jaehyun recognizes Eclipse’s symbol from Sicheng’s knife.

 

“Those are powerful friends to have,” Jaehyun says. “But surely they’re not the only ones who bow to your will? I would think the whole planet is ready to drop everything to serve you.”

 

“They would, should I want to take all of Tel’Koh’s power for myself. Or they wouldn’t, but then they would be dead. Just like that Khrelan imbecile should have been when he rejected my offer to stay with me in the palace for some time.”

 

A Khrelan. Jaehyun’s perks up at this new piece of information. “Rejected you? Anaya, who was this fool that couldn't appreciate the rare gift of your affections?”

 

“One of your friends, it would seem. The very man your captain came here to find.”

 

Jaehyun shakes his head. “That scoundrel is no friend of ours. Now I have one more reason to hunt him down and show him the consequences of his actions. Please, where can I find him? My heart won’t rest until your honor as Princess of Tel’Koh has been avenged.”

 

“Probably to the New Lythia system,” she says with a sniff. “That’s where he told my father he was headed. If I ever see him here again asking for help…” Her eyes look like miniature blizzards. “But enough about that. As you said, I’m very good at getting what I want. And what I want right now is you.”

 

The alien rice settles uncomfortably in Jaehyun’s stomach. “Now you flatter _me_. What have I done to be deserving of your attention?”

 

“You caught my eye. You had the certain...spark I was looking for. But yes, feel fortunate. The men I choose to lie with are granted the experience of their lifetimes. Afterwards, they are never the same.”

 

Only then does Jaehyun really notice the particular brand of crazy hiding behind the princess’s eyes. He has a nagging feeling that ‘never the same’ isn’t a positive thing for the men. He suppresses a shudder and lets something he hopes resembles desire overtake his expression.

 

“I look forward to it.”

 

Her smile is a jackal’s. “You have two hours. The servants will get you into something more suitable, and then you can meet in my chambers.” She stands without having eaten a bite of food. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

 

Jaehyun has what he needs. Now he just needs to make it out of here alive.

 

He’s not necessarily concerned about that, at first. Taeyong had been plenty clear about his intentions to break him out. But an hour later, when he’s been delaying the servants and still waiting in the guest room for his rescuers, Jaehyun begins worrying in earnest. He’s about three seconds away from planning his own exit strategy when a strange noise sounds from the window.

 

By the time he figures out what’s happening, he hardly has time to step back from the glass. A shape moves in the darkness, something connects, and a sloppily-cut square of window falls onto the floor. Jaehyun has never been happier to see Donghyuck’s face.

 

“It’s about time one of you showed up! Do you know how exhausting it is playing both lovestruck idiot _and_ damsel in distress?”

 

“Keep it down,” Donghyuck whispers, though he spares Jaehyun one apologetic look. “And do exactly what I tell you. We have about five minutes before the servants realize you’re missing and all hell breaks loose.”

 

Jaehyun doesn’t have any objections. He follows Donghyuck out the window and down the trellis on the side of the building, blindly feeling out footholds in the darkness. Thankfully, they make it to solid ground without breaking any legs.

 

Further down the path, the light from the castle’s glowing crystal torches better illuminates where they’re going. Jaehyun thinks of it as a positive thing until he hears marching boots and realizes that they’re completely exposed.

 

“Donghyuck…”

 

“Into the lake.”

 

Jaehyun thinks he must be joking. But sure enough, Donghyuck slips into the swampy waters off the side of the path and waves for Jaehyun to do the same.

 

 _Here goes nothing_.

 

It’s just as disgusting as he imagined. Lukewarm swamp water seeps up his nose and makes him want to gag, though he doesn’t dare open his mouth to do so. Donghyuck’s hand rests lightly on top of his head, not holding him under but letting him know that it’s not yet safe to come up. When that hand disappears and Jaehyun’s head breaks the surface, air has never felt sweeter in his lungs.

 

That’s where the silver lining stops after they climb out of the swamp. Jaehyun is covered in swamp sludge and absolutely repulsive. And the smell...he can’t focus on it, or he might vomit. If he had any desire to keep the look that Anaya’s servants had styled him up with, that option is long gone.

 

He and Donghyuck quickly slog back to the ship. There’s thankfully no further swamp-jumping involved, and the castle alarms actually wait to go off until they’re up the boarding ramp and halfway through takeoff. It’s like the universe has finally decided to cut them a break.

 

Mark launches them into hyperspace, and the rest of the crew hurries to the bridge. Taeyong starts to rush to Jaehyun’s side before he notices what he’s covered in and freezes. Jaehyun can’t exactly blame him. The others stare in varying states of shock at their swamp-covered companions.

 

“Well...good job, Donghyuck,” Taeil breaks the silence with. “Jaehyun, I’m glad you’re safe. She didn’t…?”

 

“No. Just gave me mild nightmares for a few days, tops.”

 

“That’s a relief.” At Jaehyun’s expression, he rolls his eyes. “Not the nightmares; you know what I mean. I just wish we could have made this worth it. We still don’t know where to go next.”

 

Jaehyun tries to regain some of his lost dignity, standing straight and proud. “Boss Lee’s in the New Lythia system,” he tells the crew. “Princess Anaya was pretty talkative once I buttered her up. You’re welcome.”

 

Taeyong looks the most sheepish of them all. “So...that means you kind of did the entire mission for us.”

 

Jaehyun narrows the distance between them to mere inches.

 

“That I did. And next time,” he says, wiping a line of swamp sludge across Taeyong’s cheek, “you can be the bait.”

 

 

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

 

 

 

After the way their last few hyperspace jumps have gone, and taking into account that most of the crew need time to get some actual, uninterrupted rest, they decide to fly the old-fashioned way for most of their trip to Jaehyun’s coordinates. It’s a three days’ journey from the starting point that Mark deems safe to initially jump to. That’s plenty of time to recharge, reset, and strategize. And for Taeyong and Jaehyun, possibly time for reconciliation.

 

Taeyong is still uncomfortable with the idea of this conversation going down, but Jaehyun had been so persistent about it that he’d given in. That’s how they end up in front of Yuta’s containment cell a day into the journey, Taeyong telling Donghyuck that he can pause his guard duty ━ they have it under control.

 

Yuta looks better than when they’d first brought him in. At least, his wounds do. Taeil has him patched up nicely, small bandages visible down the length of his arms and a long strip of gauze wrapped over his eye and around his head. When Yuta sees them come in and take a seat, he moves closer to the transparent barrier but won’t meet their eyes.

 

That’s probably for the best. Taeyong’s not sure that he wants the other man to be able to read his expression. He wonders if it’s better or worse for Yuta to be around more well-known faces.

 

“How are you?” Jaehyun starts. His voice is almost too loud in the silence.

 

Yuta’s fingers twirl a loose thread by his knee, pants of his that he’d left aboard the ship when he’d left so suddenly. “Taeil’s been taking care of me,” he says, which isn’t exactly an answer. “I don’t know how much he wants to, but I’m healing. Being down an eye and a finger is strange, but...hopefully I’ll get used to it.”

 

Taeyong should say _something_. He jumps on the urge before the moment passes. “Are you okay staying here?”

 

“There’s worse cells. I know it’s not my place to ask, but if I could have a blanket for staying warm overnight…”

 

“We can do that,” Jaehyun agrees.

 

“Thank you.” The fingers wrapped around that loose thread are beginning to falter. “And how’s...how’s everything going? With Zadra, I mean.”

 

“Jaehyun found us a new lead. We’re going to try asking Mark’s father for help. Maybe take Zadra down a few notches.”

 

“That’s good. That’s really…” Yuta’s voice breaks. When he finally looks up, there’s anguish written all over his face. “Please don’t pretend like nothing happened. I need you to be angry with me, to force me to apologize.”

 

“No one’s stopping you,” Jaehyun tells him.

 

“Are you sure you don’t want to yell and get it over with?”

 

“That’s not going to make me feel any better.”

 

Taeyong appreciates how Jaehyun doesn’t assume and say ‘us’, but he has to agree. He’d done his yelling. He’d had his anger. Now he’s stuck in this limbo of misery and guilt that he just wants to put behind him.

 

“Okay. If you’re sure.” Yuta takes one long, shaky breath to pull himself together. “I said it once, and I’ll say it a hundred times: I’m sorry for what I did. We’ve been on the run before, but...nothing like this, where anyone anywhere could be actively selling us out to someone who’d rather torture us than bargain. I was terrified. I still _am_ terrified. And I didn’t want to risk our lives for a stranger.”

 

Yuta’s head hangs even lower, shame overtaking him. “I know I went against what we decided as a team. I know I betrayed everyone’s trust. I know I became what we’re fighting against. I know I saw him as a bargaining chip instead of a person. There’s nothing I haven’t told myself already. I don’t have an excuse other than being scared out of my mind.”

 

Maybe it’s cruel to ask, but Taeyong has to know. “What happened? After?”

 

“I went directly to Zadra. I explained what I tried to do. I volunteered to work off the debt.” He shakes his head. “I should have known better. His men strung me up and tried to bleed me dry for information: your plans, where you might be headed, others that you knew. They...well, you can see what they did. Horrible doesn’t even begin to describe what they’re capable of. But I still never gave you up.”

 

“Why? Taeyong asks him, trying to keep his emotions in check.

 

“Because even after what happened, I still think of you as my friends.”

 

On the last word, Yuta breaks entirely. A choked sound comes from deep within his chest before he can contain it, and his eyes well up with the first tears Taeyong has seen from him since they were teenagers.

 

“And out of everything...that’s what I regret the most. That I didn’t put our friendship first. I would do anything to have that back.”

 

Even before Taeyong looks at Jaehyun, he knows what he has to do. Maybe he’s known since the moment he agreed to come down here in the first place. But now? Now, he actually wants to. He feels the rightness of it settle into his bones.

 

“You can’t exactly do that in a cell,” he says, rising to his feet. It takes only a single button press to deactivate the barrier.

 

Yuta stays where he is for a long moment. Finally, he gets up on unsteady legs and steps out of the cell, looking at the other two in a sort of awe. Taeyong almost can’t bear to see the gratitude in his eyes. He doesn’t want someone who was one of his closest friends to feel like he owes him anything. Taeyong has had enough of debts.

 

The air hangs heavy, as does the silence. It seems like one small move might bring everything toppling down.

 

“Fuck it,” Jaehyun says, and he embraces Yuta in a fierce, almost violent, hug. Taeyong follows soon after, getting an arm around both of them and tucking his head just under Jaehyun’s chin.

 

“We stay a team this time, alright?” he says.

 

Yuta nods. Jaehyun tries to mask a watery sniffle. Taeyong holds both of them closer.

 

☾

 

At the next refuel stop, they split up. It’s an attempt at covering more ground so they can quickly return to the relative safety of space. Still, Taeyong’s not stupid. He’s not about to push their limits too far. They break into groups of two and three with at least one person in each who can more than hold their own.

 

Taeyong chooses to pair up with Yuta. He knows opinions on Yuta being out of containment are mixed (and rightfully so), but he hopes the others see this as him walking the walk as Captain ━ and keeping an eye on the other man to make absolutely, positively sure that this wasn’t a mistake.

 

And speaking of mistakes...Yuta must lose his grip on the bag of toiletries and protein packs he’s carrying, because its contents are now spilled all over the ground. The other man immediately squats down to gather everything up again.

 

“Need some help?”

 

“No, I’ve got this. Sorry.” Yuta quickly shoves the last protein pack back in and threads his arm through Taeyong’s, pulling him at a brisk pace down the dirt path.

 

“So,” Yuta continues like nothing happened, “If you could actually stock up on something besides these bags of edible sawdust, what would you pick?”

 

“Uh, I don’t know...cake? What’s up with you, and where are we━?”

 

“Play along. This planet is really bringing back memories. Remember those few days in one of the outer systems we spent as bodyguards for hire? The trees were almost identical.”

 

As he talks, Yuta leads them on a roundabout route that skirts the markets, then quickly cuts through an alleyway. Taeyong follows along blindly until he catches a reflection in a window and finally realizes what’s going on: they’re being tailed.

 

“Huh, you’re right.” Taeyong wills the tension to bleed from his posture, despite now being on high alert. “The pay wasn’t as good as it should have been, but I do miss the Duke’s pet furbrites.”

 

“I almost forgot about those. They were like giant baby seals, weren’t they? Definitely the best part.”

 

“If I remember correctly, your ‘best part’ was actually abandoning your post to visit the Duke’s daughter.”

 

The smile on Yuta’s face seems genuine this time. “You got me. She had good ideas and was too clever to debate the nobles. What was I supposed to do?” He shakes his head. “In all seriousness, it was never going anywhere. She needed someone much more put together than me.”

 

“Or maybe someone who actually did the work he got paid for.”

 

Yuta elbows him where their arms are still linked together, and it almost feels like old times. Moments later, they’re stepping into the bar that had been selected as their meeting place. They must have managed to shake their tail.

 

Across the room, Sicheng notices their entrance. He motions them over to the booth in the back where the first team is chatting over drinks, and Taeyong slides in next to Jaehyun. Yuta sits as far away from Sicheng and Mark as he can without falling off the edge, setting his bags on the ground and clearly trying to hide his discomfort. Something inside Taeyong aches.

 

“Oh, you two are back.” Jaehyun turns away from the others to give them his full attention. “Get everything okay?”

 

“Enough rations to last us for at least the next two weeks. Fuel?”

 

“Everything went smoothly. Well, mostly. Were you followed, too?”

 

So it wasn’t just a one-off thing. Their whole group is being watched. Taeyong hopes the intel team has also realized it by now.

 

“We were. I didn’t see whoever it was clearly, but...Yuta, any ideas?”

 

Yuta jumps ever so slightly, surprised at being asked. “Me? Well, uh, I just saw an alien dressed like any of the others we’ve seen walking around. I didn't even know for sure he was following us until I created a distraction and saw him stop moving.”

 

Not so clumsy after all, then.

 

“Interesting.” Jaehyun frowns. “There was some human woman following us, but that’s not out of the ordinary, either. Plenty of humans live on trade-dense planets like this one.”

 

“Could this have any link to Tel’Koh?” Taeyong asks. “Sicheng, could they be working through Eclipse to track us?”

 

“They probably are, but this doesn’t feel like Eclipse. They’re not this sloppy. These people were too easy to catch.”

 

“Then maybe Zadra’s upped his game directly. Maybe he’s bribing more everyday people in the hopes that one of them will see us and report back. Unless━ hmm?”

 

A tap on Taeyong’s shoulder interrupts his theorizing. “Trust me,” Jaehyun says lowly, and Taeyong realizes what’s about to happen exactly two seconds before Jaehyun kisses him _just_ too deeply to be appropriate in a public place.

 

Yuta nearly spits out his borrowed drink, choking on the liquid before he gets it down. Mark takes a long sip of his (hopefully all-water) beverage and pretends like he hasn’t seen anything. Sicheng looks mildly amused.

 

Taeyong himself is somewhere on the border between confused and stunned, but he understands where this was supposed to go when Jaehyun breaks it off to lean in near Taeyong’s ear. “We’re being watched at our eight o'clock,” he whispers. “Keep your voice down and laugh when I move away.”

 

Taeyong has a hunch there was more than one way to get that information across. The teasing light in Jaehyun’s eyes confirms that suspicion. But he can get away with it for now. This newfound confidence is a vast improvement from the insecurity that had plagued Jaehyun before.

 

When Taeyong does let out a forced laugh, he purposefully angles his body away from the position Jaehyun had given him, making it impossible to read his lips.

 

“Eyes,” he says simply. He appreciates how every one of them immediately understands, even more than he appreciates them not mentioning Jaehyun’s little stunt.

 

It might be possible to have more of a serious discussion about their pursuers, but that would require some careful angling. They switch to small talk up until Taeil and Donghyuck arrive, at which point the conversation takes a different turn: the limited booth space.

 

“I can stand,” Yuta volunteers.

 

“We can move to a table,” Jaehyun suggests.

 

“Guys, this is an easy fix,” Donghyuck says matter-of-factly. “Cap can just sit on Jaehyun’s lap and we’ll have plenty of room.”

 

Taeyong’s embarrassment meter has finally hit its limit for today. His insides feel like shriveling up and dying. He hears Mark loudly hiss, “Donghyuck!”

 

Donghyuck stares at him blankly for a moment before his eyes widen, looking absolutely mortified. “Oh, wait, it’s still a _secret_? Geez, Cap, I am so, so━”

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Taeyong says, weighing the pros and cons of curling into a ball underneath the table. “It wasn’t even much of a secret anymore, thanks to someone and their bright ideas.”

 

“I’ll own that,” Jaehyun concedes. He looks flustered but very proud of himself. Taeyong can’t believe he finds that endearing.

 

Yuta still doesn’t seem to have recovered from his near-asphyxiation. “When did this happen?” he asks, still trying to process. “How did I not…?”

 

“It hasn’t been that long,” Jaehyun steps in, sensing Taeyong’s discomfort. “But don’t make a big deal of it. We have more important things to talk about.”

 

Taeyong squeezes his hand in thanks. A subject change is exactly what he needs.

 

With some rearranging, they manage to make the booth work. Yuta and Taeil cram in next to Jaehyun, Taeyong sits half off the seat with one leg keeping him in place, and the other three comfortably fit into the other side. Just as they finish getting settled, a new group of patrons sits at the table next to the booth, blocking the eyeline of anyone trying to keep tabs on their exchange. It’s the perfect opportunity.

 

“We’re not alone here, but it’s safe for now to talk,” Taeyong tells the most recent additions. “What did you find?”

 

“What I was hoping wasn’t true,” Taeil admits. “Donghyuck and I did some digging. I’m sure some of you knew that I currently have a debt problem of my own. Well, those shopkeepers are part of a larger union, one that functions like a spy network across most trade planets. They’re after my money or my life ━ and the lives of whoever I happen to be traveling with.”

 

That would explain the assorted, untrained tails. Taeyong can almost feel a headache coming on.

 

“So we’re not really safe on any planet where we stop to refuel,” Donghyuck summarizes.

 

“Or anywhere that might have gotten word about what we did on Verimund,” Jaehyun adds. “Even though I love our ship, it’s still stolen. We got away, but I’d put money on them finding our faces on the camera footage by now ━ Taeyong, Taeil, Yuta, and I, that is.”

 

A glass hits the table rather aggressively.

 

“Annabelle is _stolen_?” Mark asks, sounding heartbroken.

 

“We didn’t have another way to get off the planet alive,” Taeyong defends himself. “And since when did you start calling our ship Annabelle?”

 

“Since you never gave her a name.”

 

Alright, he does have a point there. Taeyong will give him that. But back to the problem at hand.

 

“So we’ll do our best to stay airborne and on the move. Not a huge deal.”

 

“But that’s not everything we found.” Donghyuck shares a look with Taeil before he continues. “While we were digging, we came across an opportunity. There’s a group here that offered us a lot of credits if we agree to do a handful of jobs for them...as hitmen. Super shady stuff, but it would be enough to pay back your debt to Zadra and then some.”

 

 _If he would even still accept it_ , Taeyong thinks, but the offer still sets the gears in his head turning. Is it possible, even now, to fix all of this with money alone? Is buying their lives really all it would take?

 

Sicheng leans forward. “We shouldn’t rule it out as an option,” he says. “I’ve done some things myself to earn a living that some would say were immoral, but they were necessary. When it comes to survival, sometimes you need to separate yourself from the choices that keep you alive.”

 

“I disagree.” Yuta’s hands are curled into fists. It looks like he’s going to stop there, confidence evaporated, until Jaehyun taps him on the knee to continue. “I know from personal experience what happens when you try to overlook doing something terrible to save your own skin. The ends hardly ever justify the means. Especially when it comes to trading someone else’s life for your own.”

 

“That’s easy to say when you still feel like you have other options left. What if this is your last chance?”

 

“Better for us to fail and not hate the people we’ve become!”

 

“You’re naive if━”

 

“I agree with Yuta,” Mark says quietly, and the booth goes silent.

 

For a long moment, Yuta just stares at Mark. The pilot glances at him a few times before seeming to decide that he isn’t ready to make eye contact just yet. Still, progress. Taeyong can see Yuta’s hands slowly unclench, his posture loosen.

 

“I’ll let them know we’re turning down the offer,” Taeil says before the silence can stretch.

 

They don’t stick around for too long after that. After Donghyuck re-checks the ship for new bugs, they take back off into the stars. Sicheng remains on the bridge for a while after they break out of the planet’s atmosphere, deep in thought.

 

Taeyong can’t read his expression.

 

☾

 

The New Lythia system is relatively small, containing only one habitable planet and few nebulous clouds to obscure visibility. On any other occasion, this would have been the best piece of news. As it stands, however, that honor goes to the fleet of ships they’re currently approaching, each with a distinctive orange spiral painted on its hull. They’ve found him. Boss Lee hasn’t left the trail cold.

 

“Keep us in orbit,” Taeyong instructs Mark. “Taeil, can you radio in? Preferably before they decide to start shooting.”

 

“I’ll set up a channel. Connecting now.”

 

A low hum gives way to static, which Taeil tunes until it becomes an audible sequence of words.

 

“━ _continue to approach, unless you have a deathwish._ ”

 

“Our apologies for the sudden approach,” Taeil says calmly. “Is this Boss Lee’s fleet? We’ve been meaning to speak with him.”

 

“ _The boss doesn’t talk to just anyone. Who the hell are you?_ ”

 

“You wouldn’t recognize our names. Please tell Boss Lee that we have a mutual enemy in K’Gag Zadra-Seevo. We have information and a plan that we hope could be beneficial for both of us.”

 

“ _Not bad, but you aren’t the first one to offer so-called ‘information’ against Zadra-Seevo. What makes you any different than any other small-fry mercs we turn away?_ ”

 

“We also have Boss Lee’s son traveling on our ship.”

 

The line goes silent for an extended pause. Too extended. They’ve been put on mute. Taeyong half expects fireballs coming their way before feedback cuts through the silence again a minute later.

 

“ _I hope for your sake that you’re not making shit up. The boss will pull up to your ship with a docking arm. You’ll be under heavy surveillance. And you’ll be unarmed._ ”

 

“Copy that. We’ll maintain our current trajectory.”

 

Taeil cuts the connection and wipes a thin layer of sweat from his brow.

 

“Good job,” Taeyong tells him. “Now we just need our boarding party.” He turns to the rest of the crew waiting on the bridge. “Jaehyun, Donghyuck? You two up for it?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“How many weapons do you think I can slip by their security?”

 

“None, because you won’t be trying any,” Taeyong answers the mercenary without pause. “Mark? I understand if you don’t want to come, but if this is important to you…”

 

Mark lights up, immediately passing the controls over to Taeil. Right on cue, the ship gives a light shudder as a docking arm clamps onto the exterior doors. It’s nothing like the forceful pirate boarding they’d experienced before, but it does make Taeyong uneasy. He hates having to willingly blow holes in their own security.

 

The four of them leave the bridge in Taeil’s hands. They pass through the first set of interior doors and wait until a green light appears over the keypad. Once the way is sealed, Taeyong lets the exterior doors slide open, too.

 

A man is waiting for them on the other side. His lips are twisted into what seems like a permanent scowl, one that he directs at each of them in turn. “No weapons. Good,” he grunts. “Follow me. The boss will see you now.”

 

The man leads them through the docking tube and past the inner workings of the other ship, slowing his pace only when he makes it to the bridge. “Wait here,” he commands. He moves to the side of the room and watches them like a hawk.

 

The next man to enter has a much different aura about him. He carries himself with the confidence of someone who’s used to fighting to get what he wants ━ and winning. His antennae and swath of purple across his face bear an uncanny resemblance to the pilot at Taeyong’s side, but that’s where any similarities end.

 

“So, you’re the ones my crew raised a fuss about,” Boss Lee says, crossing his arms. “This had better be worth my time.”

 

Taeyong can see Mark fidgeting out of the corner of his eye. His pent-up excitement is slipping just beyond his threshold of control, coming off of him in a few scattered tendrils.

 

“And this must be Minhyung,” Boss Lee continues. “You’ve grown, but I recognize your face.”

 

“I go by Mark now,” Mark corrects him, but there’s no heat to the words. He sounds overjoyed to be acknowledged.

 

“Hmm.”

 

There’s a sinking feeling in Taeyong’s stomach telling him that this won’t be the heartfelt father-son reunion that Mark thinks it is. Better to keep Boss Lee talking than let this moment turn into something ugly.

 

“We meant what we said over the radio,” Taeyong says. “We stole coordinates to one of Zadra-Seevo’s largest supply depots. By ourselves, we don’t have enough firepower to do any damage, but if we joined forces…”

 

Boss Lee lets out what can best be described as a guffaw. “Sure, kid. And what makes you think this has any chance of working?”

 

“We have the element of surprise,” Jaehyun backs Taeyong up. “We escaped from one of Zadra’s largest vessels just days ago. He’ll be expecting us to lick our wounds, not go for another attack. And he’s been so focused on hunting us that he definitely won’t be expecting you.”

 

“Interesting. I don’t know what you did to piss him off, but if all of that is true…” His eyes narrow. “What’s in it for me?”

 

There’s the question Taeyong had been expecting all along.

 

“You can keep anything at the depot,” he promises. “Credits, ships, any of it. We just want a dent in his operations and a target off our backs.”

 

“How...unexpected.” Boss Lee’s eyes are focused on something Taeyong can’t see, tallying up gains and losses, thinking of more ways to use this to his advantage. “Well, you didn't lie to me about my son,” he finally says, “which means you might not be lying about this. I’ll agree to lead an attack if you send over the coordinates after this meeting is finished.”

 

“You can have the name of the system for making a hyperspace jump, but we’ll hold onto the planet and exact location until after that. We need insurance.”

 

The pause that follows feels like a threat.

 

“If you insist.”

 

All of the passive-aggressiveness in that concession seems to have gone right over Mark’s head. He still seems to be hung up on his father’s earlier words, almost like he’s under the impression...

 

Boss Lee finally notices Mark’s excitement. “Do you think I’m doing this for _you_?” he asks. “Nice try, kid.”

 

Mark’s heart breaks openly on his face. Anger stirs underneath Taeyong’s skin. But even before he can say anything, the others are stepping in.

 

“Don’t talk to him like that,” Jaehyun reprimands. “He’s your son.”

 

“A son I haven’t seen or spoken to in ten years. It’s about time he grew up.”

 

“I don’t think Mark’s the one who needs to grow up,” Donghyuck all but growls.

 

Boss Lee’s lip curls. “So Minhyung’s been laying the pheromones on you pretty thick, huh?”

 

Finally, Mark bristles at the comment. No matter how much that makes Taeyong want to join in on the argument, he knows that he needs to end this. Now.

 

“We’ll stick with the fleet and discuss more of a strategy after we all make the jump and transfer the coordinates.”

 

Boss Lee’s eyes go dark at the commanding tone, glaring daggers. Just for a moment, Taeyong can fully see him for the dangerous man he is, one who’s fought tooth and nail up the ladder of the criminal underworld.

 

“Done. Now get off my ship.”

 

Soon. One way or another, it will all be over.

 

 

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me remembering to actually post the chapter while it's still morning? Crazy. Seriously, though, it's been a while since I've mentioned it, but thank you all for the lovely comments. Every single one really brightens up my day. :)

 

 

 

Yuta has a bad feeling about this. Sure, that probably has something to do with how much he doesn’t want to go through with it, but he knows it’s necessary. And he doesn’t want to see the disappointment on his friends’ faces if he chickens out last minute. Disappointment is something he’s had more than enough of.

 

The door to Mark’s room is open. Yuta has to awkwardly position himself against the adjacent wall to remain out of sight while he deals with his last-minute loss of courage.

 

It’s not like Mark doesn’t know he’s coming. Taeyong and Jaehyun had made it very clear that they’d talked with the pilot beforehand and made sure he was okay with it.

 

“Say everything you need to say,” Jaehyun had told Yuta privately. “Please do your best to make things right. I need the others to trust you like I still want to.”

 

The look in Jaehyun’s eyes had been so pleading, so unlike him. It makes Yuta feel even more guilty, to know that he’s the reason for it. And Taeyong...sometimes Taeyong will look at Yuta like a stranger, but sometimes he looks at him with such pain in his expression that Yuta wants to run and hide.

 

He does need to make things right. He needs them to look at him again like part of the crew, not a walking timebomb. He needs something better than this lonely ache inside his chest. And it starts here, with doing one of the things that he dreads the most.

 

Yuta takes a deep breath and steps inside.

 

“Mark?” he asks. “Is now a good time to talk?”

 

The pilot looks up from where he’s messing with his commlink, visibly trying to hide his flinch. Not a great start, but he hasn’t yelled for Yuta to leave yet. That’s something.

 

“Yeah, um, sure. Okay.”

 

“Do you want me to…” Yuta trails off, gesturing toward the door.

 

A moment of hesitation. “That’s fine,” Mark agrees, but he doesn’t put his commlink back into its charger. He has it on and resting where he can easily reach, probably so he can call for help at a moment’s notice. It’s kind of a slap in the face, made worse by the fact that Yuta can’t fault him for it. What had happened the last time they were alone together? Exactly.

 

Yuta doesn’t dare take a seat next to Mark. He remains standing just a few feet from the door, close enough that he looks serious about being here but far enough away that he hopefully won’t seem as threatening.

 

This is awful. Why is he doing this?

 

 _Make things right_.

 

“Hey, I’m sorry about your dad,” Yuta says, hoping that’s a fair place to start. “I know what it’s like to want your parents’ approval, and then no matter how much you’ve accomplished or how proud of yourself you are, they refuse to see any of it.”

 

“I don’t want his approval. There’s a reason I never talked about him,” Mark counters. “I just wanted a memory of him acting like an actual father for once.”

 

“Oh.”

 

So much for starting on the right foot. Yuta needs to get on the right track, or he might not get another chance to be heard out.

 

“Look, we both know what I’m here for. I won’t make excuses for what I did. I know you’ll probably never trust me again. If it makes you feel any better, I paid for my choice. And I _am_ sorry. An apology won’t fix things, but…”

 

But what? How is this supposed to help anything? He had a whole speech written out in his head explaining the fear that had driven him to cast Mark aside, but none of it will come out. It sounds too much like justifying his actions, too much like he’s asking Mark to understand.

 

If Mark was cruel, he could he could have let the moment drag on. He could have left Yuta fumbling for words and worried he was about to be told to leave. As Yuta is far too aware, Mark isn’t cruel.

 

“That really hit close to home, you know,” Mark says quietly. It’s an accusation made with such sadness that it nearly doesn’t sound like one at all. “Being taken advantage of like that, not being seen as a person...that was my life every day in the races. That still _is_ my life when others have certain ideas about Khrelan in their heads. I thought I was finally going to be safe.”

 

Yuta thought he’d left like scum before. This is much worse. No “I’m sorry”, no matter how genuine, is going to salvage his apology.

 

“What can I do to make it up to you?” he asks instead. “I’m not expecting you to forgive me. But at least for now, we’re on the same crew. You shouldn’t have to feel terrified every time we’re in the same room. Anything you ask, I’ll do.”

 

He has at least a small hope that Mark has it in his heart to take pity on him. He can still remember his own surprise the other day when the pilot had taken his side in the argument with Sicheng. Speaking up for him had to mean there was some room for reconciliation, or at least tolerance.

 

(He tries not to think about what he’d do if he were in Mark’s shoes, because he knows with absolute certainty that he wouldn’t be so forgiving.)

 

“I don’t…” Mark’s words fade out before he lets out a long sigh, deflating. “There’s so much hurt and pain out there. Every time we find something new, I just feel so _sad_. I don’t want to add to that. I don’t want someone to suffer because they’re set on making something up to me.”

 

“So there’s nothing I can do.”

 

“No, I mean that there’s nothing you _need_ to do.”

 

Yuta is sure he’s misheard. “You’re forgiving me. Just like that?”

 

“Not...exactly. I don’t think I’m ready for that. But I really, really would like to start moving on.”

 

It feels like the weight of the world has been lifted off Yuta’s shoulders. “Thank you,” he says sincerely. “I mean it. And I’ll do better.”

 

“Did you mean what you said at the tavern?”

 

“Every word.”

 

“Then I think you’re on the right path. Don’t add to the suffering.”

 

“I won’t. Not anymore.”

 

This is probably more than he deserves. Yuta doesn’t know what he did to be gifted a second chance. But no matter how difficult it is, he’s not going to take any shortcuts this time, run any red lights. This time, he’s going to make it count.

 

☾

 

Taeyong can’t sleep.

 

Logically, he knows he needs it tonight more than any other. Tomorrow is the big day, the mission that will bring everything to a close, for better or for worse. The last thing he needs is to be running on empty. But there’s too many thoughts running through his head, and he can’t quiet them enough to drift off.

 

With an irritated sigh, Taeyong kicks off his blanket and gets back out of bed. He pulls his shoes and shirt back on so that he can slip out of his room and down the hallway, hoping he hasn’t woken anyone up. With luck, the other members of the crew are already deep in some faraway dreamland.

 

The observation deck isn’t far. Taeyong shuts the door behind him, cutting off the artificial light filtering into the room. He feels blindly along the back wall for the button on the console that he’s looking for. It takes him a moment, but when he does lay a finger on it, the full-wall shutter begins to open with a long creak, revealing an endless view into the darkness beyond.

 

Even with how often he’s found himself flying, Taeyong still feels his breath catch. He takes a seat on the floor in front of the viewport, close enough that it fills his entire vision, and just...stares. He watches the distant stars as if in a trance, gazes after a ringed planet at the edge of the viewport until it’s left behind entirely.

 

Taeyong’s focus is so absolute that he only registers someone else has come in when they’re standing right next to him. He jumps when he notices, head shipping up to identify in the person in question, and sees Jaehyun’s apologetic smile.

 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” Jaehyun tells him, and when Taeyong waves the apology away, “I brought you something. It’s not fancy, but it’s better than sitting on the cold floor all night.”

 

There’s a blanket in his hands that Taeyong hadn’t noticed. He stands and allows Jaehyun to roll it out on the floor, patting the space next to him when he sits back down. “Join me?”

 

Jaehyun does. Taeyong leans against him, threading an arm through Jaehyun’s own. They sit there for a long moment in their own world and watch the stars. This is nice. Different, but nice. They haven’t really had a chance to stop and breathe in a while. When Jaehyun speaks next, he does it quietly, not disturbing the atmosphere that’s fallen over the observation deck.

 

“How are you? And I don’t want the canned response you’ve been giving the others; I’m seriously asking.”

 

“Scared,” Taeyong answers honestly. “The thought that we could lose everything is awful. Part of me wishes it could all just be over. And then the other part can’t get past how we’ll all probably drift apart when this is over. I hate all of the not knowing: how things will go, who I’ll never hear from again, what I’ll even do when this is over. And it won’t shut off. It won’t let me sleep.”

 

He stops himself, shaking his head. “I’m not making sense, am I?” It feels like he’s said too much.

 

“You’re making plenty of sense,” Jaehyun reassures him, “especially for the middle of the night. I know what you mean. Maybe not as much about what happens after, but thinking about tomorrow freaks me out a bit. It feels like we must be able to do more planning, have some other trick up our sleeve. I have to convince myself we’ve done enough.”

 

They drift back into silence. The stars continue to twinkle in the distance, beacons of light in galaxies they may never experience. Glowing possibilities in an infinite sea.

 

“It’s kind of amazing, isn’t it?” Taeyong remarks. “How far we’ve come, how much we’ve done to get here. This moment was born from hundreds of tiny choices, all of which could have led to hundreds of different outcomes. And somehow, out of all of those, we were meant to end up here.”

 

Jaehyun hums but doesn’t speak. He seems to realize even before Taeyong does that Taeyong doesn’t need words, just to get these thoughts off his chest. Though, there is one thing he could use an answer for.

 

“How did you know where to find me?”

 

“You never sleep well when you’re anxious, and I always notice you watching the stars whenever we have the view. That narrowed down my options pretty quickly. Just wanted to make sure you’re not alone if you don’t want to be.”

 

Affection surges in Taeyong’s chest. He shrugs out of Jaehyun’s hold and lets the other man wrap his arm around Taeyong’s shoulders instead, head coming down to rest on Jaehyun’s own.

 

“I can’t blame you,” Jaehyun admits. “They’re beautiful.”

 

That’s putting it lightly, though Taeyong appreciates the other man validating his feelings. It’s nice to feel like this around someone, like there’s no need to watch what comes out of your mouth because no matter what you say, it won’t be brushed aside. Taeyong’s inability to put his feelings into words is the only thing that stops him from continuing to philosophize.

 

“Isn’t it wonderful to just...be?” he finally settles on.

 

He’s positive he’s not making any sense, even if Jaehyun won’t admit it, but that’s alright. Taeyong still feels a sense of wonder filling him up from the inside out. A peaceful feeling settles over their small little world, cupping them both gently in its palms. And god, is it nice to be able to sit and take this all in without having to be a part of so many tangled threads, if only for a moment. From here, all of their worries seem so small. Taeyong is one light in that infinite sea.

 

“I can go if you’d like some time alone,” Jaehyun murmurs. His breath ruffles the hair on the side of Taeyong’s head when he speaks.

 

One light, but not one that shines alone. Taeyong turns, seeing the stars reflected in Jaehyun’s eyes, and can’t picture a universe where he’d agree.

 

Instead, he leans in. Jaehyun’s breath stutters once before he meets Taeyong halfway, smiling into the kiss. Taeyong can’t stop himself from doing the same. He’d thought falling would be difficult and scary and every nervous adjective out there, but with Jaehyun...it’s so easy. It feels like coming home every time he slips deeper into uncharted territory.

 

Taeyong hardly feels his back hit the blanket, because Jaehyun gently lowers him down, making the impact as light as a feather. They’re still connected, and the last thing Taeyong wants is for that to end. So he pulls Jaehyun lower. He slides his hands where the other man’s shirt has ridden up and traces along the smooth curves of his back, keeping him close.

 

When Taeyong does get a chance to breathe properly, it’s only because Jaehyun manages to pull away, though not for long. He kisses slowly down Taeyong’s jaw, his throat, his collarbone, sucking lightly at the thin skin. A whine escapes Taeyong’s lips that he’s not in the state of mind to be embarrassed about. He’s suddenly hyperaware of the arms on either side of his head caging him in.

 

Those kisses go lower, lower still, pressing over fabric but still setting Taeyong’s nerve endings ablaze. The next one sends a sudden shiver running through his body, making Jaehyun pause in his ministrations.

 

“This okay?” he asks, voice much to gentle to match how wide his pupils are blown.

 

Taeyong thought it would feel more like an edge, the end of the line, but all he can feel is trust and warmth. It’s new but nothing frightening, exhilarating but not something he knows he’ll regret.

 

“Much more than okay.”

 

Jaehyun looks at him with a tenderness that nearly melts Taeyong into the floor. Taeyong finally lets the current pull him under, losing himself in the feeling entirely. And beneath the twinkling of those faraway stars, two become one.

 

☾

 

Boss Lee doesn’t waste any time. After both fleets make the jump through hyperspace and the coordinates are transferred, he’s on the monitor for a two-minute recap of the plan and then he’s on the move.

 

Taeyong’s crew is allowed use of one borrowed shuttle. He brings everyone sans Mark on board, entrusting the pilot with having their getaway ship prepped and ready just above the visible range of the atmosphere. For something this important, only their best will do.

 

Taeil takes on the role of shuttle pilot. He flies the small vehicle in quickly and silently, dropping them off just south of the actual coordinates. Research on this moon beforehand had made it clear that the actual depot was sheltered inside a large crater. That gave both crews the option of coming in low behind the ridges along the crater’s edge, which will provide valuable cover. Hopefully it works as well in actuality as it does in theory.

 

A beep sounds from Taeyong’s commlink, which he quickly answers. “ _Gamma Team, come in_ ,” a voice says on the other end.

 

“Gamma Team is in position,” Taeyong responds. “We’re on the ground and waiting for your signal.”

 

“ _Alpha Team and I are beginning our frontal assault on the base. Beta Team is on their way down to keep Zadra-Seevo’s pilots distracted. Move in_.”

 

“Copy that. Gamma Team is on the move.”

 

Taeyong ends the call and turns back to his team, giving them a nod. This is it. He sees everyone grip their weapons a little tighter. But he also sees Jaehyun give him a small smile of encouragement, which does wonders for his nerves. They’ve prepared for this. They can do it.

 

“Let’s go,” he instructs. “Taeil, take the shuttle back up to our ship and wait with Mark. I know you think it’s because I want you staying safe, but he needs someone to keep him calm. And if anything goes wrong…”

 

“Then we’ll be down to pull you of here before you can blink.”

 

Taeyong was actually going to say ‘get yourselves to safety’, but he has a feeling the other man wouldn’t have listened. “Good luck,” he says instead.

 

“Same to you. I’ll see you all in a little while, so don’t do anything stupid.”

 

With those parting words, the rest of the crew engage their helmets and file off the shuttle. Taeil takes a straight-shot at the horizon, fading out of sight.

 

On the other side of the ridge, they can hear the sounds of fighting echo within the crater. Boss Lee seems to be doing an excellent job of providing a distraction. Taeyong leads his team down the steep ascent, warning the others about loose rocks and bad footholds as he maps a path forward. Somehow, they make it down to the nearest tower of the depot without any broken bones.

 

“I’ve got the door,” Donghyuck volunteers. He pops open the panel and fiddles with the wires, sending up a tiny line of sparks before the metal door slides wide open.

 

The distraction hasn’t just done its job on the depot’s exterior, it seems. There are no guards inside the entrance, only a few lone patrollers as they venture further in that they quickly neutralize. Taeyong wishes he had a blueprint of the facility to make it easier to navigate, but the lack of Zadra’s goons is definitely a good enough present. And it’s not too difficult to follow signage to security once they get deeper in.

 

Donghyuck’s magic doesn’t work on the door to central security. He looks at the console like it’s offended him, turning back to the others with a grumble of, “I can’t crack this stupid code.”

 

It’s not the end of the world. There’s a reason they came prepared. Taeyong nods to Yuta, who fishes three palm-sized charges out of his pack and plants them on the door. The team moves back down the hallway out of range. Taeyong holds his fingers up so Yuta can see them, silently counting down from three.

 

 _And...now_.

 

A blast echoes down the hallway, ripping the door from its frame. It falls to the ground with a solid _boom_. On Taeyong’s signal, the team rushes through the smoke and into the room, guns drawn.

 

The surprised group inside aren’t who Taeyong expected. Three men throw their hands in the air when they see the weapons pointed at them. They’re unarmed.

 

Taeyong’s jaw clenches. Just because they don’t have guns doesn’t mean they’re doing any less harm working for Zadra. Part of him wants to take them out like any other footsoldier. But he has his own moral code for a reason, and he needs to practice what he preaches when it comes to sticking to his principles.

 

“Donghyuck, sleepers,” he orders.

 

The mercenary pulls a different weapon from its holster, firing three shots in succession. Three surprised men slump to the ground with a single dart protruding from their necks. Not dead, but out of commission for the next several hours.

 

“Jaehyun, guard the door,” Taeyong continues. “Someone has to have noticed the explosion. Tell me if anything comes our way.”

 

“I’ve got you covered.”

 

“Good. And Donghyuck?”

 

“Halfway there already, Cap,” Donghyuck says from one of the computers. He’s back in his element, throwing up lines of code on the screens with a stream of mumbled notes. “Should have control in...there. Here are the camera feeds.”

 

An array of images pops up with views of the depot, both inside and out. Taeyong mostly sees empty hallways and warehouse space. But there in the bottom right corner, he can see a few different angles of the fight outside the main doors. Boss Lee and his crew have nearly reached the entrance.

 

“Do you have access to the doors from here?” Taeyong asks.

 

“Yep. They over-centralized all their security, so I have fingers in just about all of it.”

 

“Then be ready.” Taeyong switches his commlink back on and patches a message through. “Alpha Team, come in.”

 

He gets a few seconds of static, then, “ _This is Alpha Team. You at security yet?_ ”

 

“We have control of the entrance. I’ll open the doors when you give the word.”

 

“ _Give me a minute_.”

 

For a while, there’s no response. Donghyuck’s finger hovers above a key, looking at Taeyong intently.

 

“ _Open up_.”

 

On the monitor, Taeyong sees the front doors start to swing open, drawing the attention of Zadra’s forces. Alpha Team surges toward the entrance. They take fire, a few of them on the fringes going down, but they still barrel through enemy lines and into the building.

 

“Seal the doors.”

 

Donghyuck completes another keystroke. The doors swing back shut, closing Boss Lee and his crew off to the line of fire. Time for the next phase of their plan to begin.

 

“ _Gamma Team, meet us down on the lower level. We’ll set one of the cores to━ what was that?_ ” The sound cuts out suddenly. Taeyong doesn’t even have time to panic before Boss Lee’s voice comes back in. “ _Change of plans. Zadra-Seevo is here_.”

 

Disbelief nearly renders Taeyong silent. “He’s...what? That’s impossible.”

 

“ _Here for a routine checkup. The depot’s too large for him to send an underling. Meet us on the top floor, kid. I’m not giving him a chance to escape._ ”

 

“Copy that.”

 

Taeyong might have stood in place for another minute, looking blankly at the wall in shock, if it weren’t for Jaehyun calling from the doorway, “We’ve got company!” That snaps him back to reality. The circumstances might have changed, but they still have a job to do.

 

“This could be our big break,” Taeyong tells the team. “Behind me, and double-time it!”

 

Bullets and shouts greet them the moment they lean out of the doorway, an attack that they answer with gunfire of their own. These men are far too easy to take down. There will be more close behind.

 

“I downloaded the building map to my commlink,” Donghyuck says like he’s read Taeyong’s mind. “Let me lead.”

 

If they make it out of here and clear their debt, Taeyong is paying Donghyuck triple the price of his contract.

 

“Works for me. Take us there as fast as you can.”

 

Donghyuck leads them up through the depot, following the digital display projecting from his wrist. Yuta and Jaehyun watch their sides, while Sicheng keeps an eye out behind them. They’ve assembled quite the team. If Taeyong wasn’t so focused on being ready to shoot around every corner, he’d allow himself to get sentimental.

 

The main tower of the depot has seven floors. Six disjointed sets of stairs and five firefights later, they make it to the top.

 

“Zadra’s probably holed up in the biggest office,” Donghyuck says, peering at his map. “It’s right down━”

 

Nearby gunfire cuts him off. Taeyong leads the charge to the source of the sound, bursting in through a set of open doors. High on adrenaline, it takes him a moment to process everything he’s seeing: the upturned tables, the familiar uniforms of Boss Lee’s crew surrounding the Khrelan himself, and...oh.

 

Taeyong nearly drops his gun. K’Gag Zadra-Seevo, powerful crime lord and issuer of Taeyong’s death warrant, is crumpled on the floor in a pool of blue blood. His eyes are frozen in a bug-eyed stare, tongue lolling out of his mouth in a way that would have almost been humorous if it weren’t for the very present aura of death.

 

They missed it, but...it’s over. It’s almost anticlimactic how quickly it had all ended. Taeyong can’t quite process that this is what their victory looks like. Isn’t this what he’d hoped for all along? Why does he feel so strange?

 

Boss Lee has no such concerns. He turns away from gloating over the corpse when he sees who’s come in. “It’s done,” he says. No explanation, no thank you. Taeyong resists rolling his eyes. “Now for the escape plan.”

 

“How much security is left?”

 

“Most of the footsoldiers are dead or scattered. I’d get off this rock before his pilots get smart and box you in.”

 

Taeyong starts to ask another question, because surely there must be more to it, but Boss Lee shoulders past him and leads what remains of his team out the door. A special brand of asshole.

 

Whatever. Taeyong’s not letting this get to him, of all things. “You heard him. Let’s go,” he tells the others, and he follows Boss Lee’s crew out the━

 

No he doesn't. The door slides shut with a hiss inches from his face.

 

“What the hell?” Yuta exclaims.

 

Taeyong reopens the channel on his commlink, annoyed. “Alpha Team, what happened?”

 

“ _I got what I came for. Zadra-Seevo’s dead and we’re hitting the treasury before we leave._ ”

 

“Right. That’s great and all, but we’re sealed in. Can you open the doors?”

 

“ _I said there was an escape plan. I didn't say it was for you. Nice doing business with you, kid._ ”

 

The connection cuts out. It’s been a long time since Taeyong’s felt this blindsided, the whole business with Yuta aside. His earlier annoyance has very quickly spiraled into anger.

 

“That absolute piece of shit,” Jaehyun seethes. He shoves his gun back into his holster and starts to pace, muttering more curses to himself.

 

The others try to help in their own way. Yuta tries to pry open the door, while Donghyuck inspects the now-dead panel and Sicheng stares at a point in space, deep in thought. Taeyong stands in the center of it all, wondering how he’s supposed to salvage this eleventh hour betrayal.

 

“We need outside help,” Sicheng says suddenly. “Is there a way to get in contact with Mark?”

 

Donghyuck steps away from the panel with his second defeated glare of the day. “I can try linking one of our commlinks to the depot’s communication relay, if it’s still functioning. That might amplify the signal enough to reach him.”

 

“Good thinking,” Taeyong agrees. “In the meantime, we need to get to some place where Mark can pick us up. That asshole probably sealed the floor, but we need some sort of vulnerable point. An exterior door or━”

 

“How about a window?” Jaehyun asks. He’s looking at a map display, which throws Taeyong for a loop until he realizes Jaehyun and Donghyuck have swapped commlinks. He really hopes for both their sakes that Jaehyun has password-protected his messages and pictures, but considering who has their hands on them, that’s probably a moot point. And definitely not a priority right now.

 

“That would work. Where?”

 

“Other side of the hallway, down at the end. I’m not positive it’ll work, but there is a vent system on this floor that passes above it...might be worth a shot.”

 

“Anything is better than sitting here,” Yuta says. Taeyong couldn’t agree more.

 

“That’s our plan, then. Donghyuck, is it working?”

 

“Almost. And...connected.”

 

The screen of Jaehyun’s commlink goes white. Scratchy static comes from its speakers. Donghyuck continues to fiddle with it until the noise sharpens to a faint hum.

 

“Mark, it’s Taeyong. Can you hear me?”

 

The humming increases in pitch for a second, then returns to normal. No response.

 

“Are we on the right frequency?”

 

“Yeah, he should be getting an alert. I’ve messed around with the ship enough to know what should work, trust me.”

 

Taeyong takes a deep breath. This has to go through. “Mark, this is Taeyong. I don’t know if you can hear us, but we━”

 

“ _Sorry, sorry, I’m here,_ ” a voice interrupts him. “ _I didn’t recognize the source until I saw Donghyuck’s message in the signature. Is something wrong?_ ”

 

Taeyong thanks God, the universe, anyone who might be listening.

 

“We need a way out. The room we’re in now is sealed in, but there might be a way to get to the Northwest corner of the top floor. It should have a window.”

 

“ _So you want me to break the glass and get you out?_ ”

 

“If you can get down here safely. How’s the air look?”

 

“ _Sparse enough for me to stay undetected for...well, at least a few minutes_.”

 

“It should only take that long. Give us five minutes, and if you haven’t gotten our signal, that means we can’t get a connection. Come in anyway.”

 

“ _Okay, I can do that. How many people am I picking up?_ ”

 

Taeyong swallows uncomfortably. “It’s just the five of us.”

 

“ _But what about…? Oh_.” Something in Taeyong’s tone must give it away.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Mark goes quiet, giving Taeyong a brief “ _I’ll see you soon_ ” before he cuts the connection. Taeyong’s mouth tastes like acid.

 

With some trial and error, they manage to pry the vent panel off the ceiling. Taeyong volunteers his shoulders as a stepping stone for the other four. His legs shake with the effort of holding them up, but he knows he’s one of the lightest on the team. That makes it possible for the others to hoist him up into the confined space. They’re in.

 

They crawl through the vents in a single file line, trying not to bang around and draw unwanted attention. Taeyong does his best not to think too hard on his growing sense of claustrophobia. There will be an exit. He won’t be stuck up here forever.

 

In front of him, Jaehyun and Yuta stop moving. They must be above the room. Yuta very carefully pulls a multi-tool from his pack and loosens each screw. When it comes loose, Jaehyun is ready. He pulls the grate up before it can fall, setting it down further into the tunnel.

 

“Guards?” Taeyong whispers at Yuta’s ear. The other man gives him a nod.

 

That’s okay. No one should be expecting an attack from above. But they need to get a message to Mark as soon as possible if they don’t want to push their luck. He catches Donghyuck’s eye and mimes tapping his wrist. _Signal_.

 

Donghyuck nods. He opens a channel, which creates a burst of static that makes them all freeze. Below, one guard looks over his shoulder before shaking his head. Too close.

 

“Mission go. Hostiles,” Donghyuck whispers into the commlink, face missing some of its color.

 

They don’t have to wait for long. The low rumble of a ship approaching is their only warning, and then the guards below are jumping to attention, gesturing to the window. Mark appears in a flash of black and gray, turrets firing on approach. Taeyong can’t see the full expanse of glass shatter, but he does hear the crash, see the fragments blow across the room. Along with their enemies, that last obstacle is no more.

 

The moment the turrets stop firing, the team makes their move. They drop down from the vents, each helping the person behind them and rushing toward the remnants of the shattered window. There’s no room for the landing ramp, but Taeil is standing at the opening to pull them on board.

 

Halfway through the escape, an alarm sounds, but what use is it? There’s no more Zadra to alert. The ringleaders of the depot probably died in the fighting. And they’re already rising further away from the surface, jumping back into hyperspace. (It’s not like they still have to worry about waiting for the rest of the fleet, Taeyong notes a little bitterly.)

 

Even despite that betrayal, they’ve done it. They’ve done more than Taeyong thought possible. Their greatest enemy is dead. Their debt is void with no one to collect on it. They’ve made it out. It’s really over.

 

The crew gathers on the bridge like they’re not sure where else to go. Even Mark joins once he’s sure he can re-engage the autopilot. Judging by his expression, the others have already filled him in on what went down. Everyone seems to be giving each other stunned, confused looks, like they’re asking, _Can it really be finished, just like that?_

 

“We did it,” Taeyong starts. Saying it out loud almost makes him believe it. “Everything we worked for finally paid off. It’s kind of hard to believe, but...great job, everyone.”

 

He wants to continue with some grand speech, but he’s at a loss for words. Is he in shock? Is that why he can’t seem to connect two and two?

 

“It’s probably best for all of us to get some extra rest,” Jaehyun steps in, sensing that something’s off. “I know no one got any sleep last night, and we’ve earned a few hours to ourselves. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

 

The others look more focused with some direction. They split up to head to their rooms, still trying to shake off this feeling of...what, confusion? Disappointment? Whatever it is, it seems to have taken over the ship. Jaehyun grabs Taeyong’s hand and pulls him a few paces behind the rest of the crew.

 

“Feeling okay?” Jaehyun asks, lightly nudging him.

 

“I think so. Just...processing.”

 

“It’s a lot to take in. But don’t worry; it’s over. We’re safe. No worrying about being chased down and killed anymore, okay?”

 

Taeyong wants to share in the sentiment. He really does. There’s no reason he shouldn’t, too, with all of their problems seemingly solved. This is their first day of freedom in a long time.

 

So why doesn’t it feel like they’re free?

 

 

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

 

 

 

Taeyong awakes to blaring alarms, nearly pushing Jaehyun off the bed as he shoots up straight.

 

“...the hell?” Jaehyun is muttering, blinking sleep out of his eyes, but Taeyong is already out from the blankets and pulling on clothes. He has a bad feeling about this.

 

He’s pulling on his other shoe when a pair of arms suddenly encircles his waist, pulling him backward. Lips rest against the back of his neck, muffling Jaehyun’s next words.

 

“Do you really have to go?”

 

“ _We_ have to go, Sleeping Beauty. Didn’t you hear the alarm?”

 

Jaehyun stills for a moment to listen, the loud sound finally reaching his sleep-addled mind. “Mm. That could be important.”

 

“You don’t say. Now get dressed before I pull you out there looking like this.”

 

They’re stumbling out the door in record time after Jaehyun comes to his senses. The other man does manage to steal one kiss before that (or two), but they’re still not the last ones to make it to the bridge. The rest of the crew are arriving in various states of disarray, all save for one.

 

“Where’s Mark?”

 

“I’m here!” the pilot calls from the cockpit. “I’m a bit busy, but I should be able to shut off...there.”

 

The alarm dies down to a much more reasonable series of beeps. The flashing lights still make it very clear they have a situation, but at least Taeyong can keep his eardrums intact. He moves away from his normal spot at the head of the table and stands at the entrance to the cockpit, the others following suit. Outside the front viewport, he can’t make out what would have set off the alarms in the first place.

 

“What’s going on?” he asks Mark.

 

“We’re being chased. I woke up and shut off the autopilot as soon as we got alerts. That didn’t stop them from taking out most of our shields. I’m doing my best to lose them, but they’re good at keeping up. It looks like three ships, if I counted right.”

 

One such ship streaks past just outside the viewport, making Sicheng visibly stiffen.

 

“I know those markings,” he says gravely. “Those are Eclipse ships.”

 

“Sent by Anaya and her crazy family to kill us, I’m guessing?” Jaehyun asks.

 

“Most likely. They might also be looking to eliminate me for my failure to kill you, since they’ve gotten word that I’m alive. Normally I’d volunteer to give myself up, but that wouldn't stop the nobles’ contract.”

 

“Also, that’s stupid,” Donghyuck adds, “because we wouldn’t let you do that anyway.”

 

Sicheng tries and fails to hide his smile. If he was going to say anything else, it’s interrupted by Mark taking a particularly impressive dive, one that makes them all grab onto walls or each other to steady themselves.

 

“Fuuuuuuck,” Mark says in a drawn-out sort of groan. There’s another set of flashing lights that appears by the controls.

 

Yuta gives him an admonishing “Language,” and Mark actually takes his eyes away from the viewport for a moment to send him a silent _Really?_ that Taeyong thinks is rather justified. It makes Yuta flush, embarrassed, and Jaehyun shoves him with a grin. What is it about the imminent chance of death that brings everyone together?

 

“How are we looking?” Taeyong asks Mark, though he thinks he already knows the answer.

 

“Honestly? Like we’ll be lucky to make it out of here,” Mark admits. “Shields are down, I’ve only landed a hit on one of their ships, and I think the hyperdrive might be━”

 

Taeyong doesn’t hear the end of that sentence. He’s tossed to the side with the rest of the crew, landing unceremoniously on his butt. When he makes it back to his feet, there’s a red alert box across Mark’s monitor, and the pilot has somehow managed to tense even further.

 

“Mark?”

 

“We’re not...crap. Everyone needs to get into their suits, take anything they need, and get to the escape pod. This is going to be our last flight with Annabelle.” It sounds like he’s saying goodbye to an old friend. His hands hesitate on the controls. “Do you trust me?”

 

Jaehyun places a hand on one of those tense shoulders with an encouraging “You’ve got this,” and some of the tension dissipates. Taeyong doesn’t know exactly what the pilot has in mind, but he can guess the general idea. He doesn’t envy Mark for having to be the one to do it.

 

The crew goes to work immediately with getting suited up and armed, each of them filling a pack with the most important things from their rooms that will fit. Taeyong feels like he’s wasting time as he quickly folds up his starcharts and crams them in alongside his journals and his mother’s necklace. But on the other hand, he knows he wouldn’t otherwise see any of this again. Some things are worth spending an extra minute on.

 

They’ve agreed to gather by the escape pod once they’re packed. On Taeyong’s way there, he sees where Taeil has temporarily taken over while Mark gets into his own suit. Good. They need him as ready as possible to join the rest of the group once he has to relinquish control.

 

The door to the escape pod works. That’s also good, considering they’ve never tested it before now. As bad as things have gotten, they’ve never reached the point of needing to abandon ship. Taeyong straps himself in right next to the intercom and hits the button for the cockpit.

 

“We’re ready,” he says, “if worst comes to worst.”

 

He says ‘if’, but they both know what he really means.

 

“ _Understood_.”

 

The intercom switches off. For a little while, the crew sits in silence, feeling the ship shake at an increasingly concerning rate.

 

“If something goes wrong…” Taeil starts awkwardly.

 

“Hey, no need for goodbyes just yet,” Jaehyun reassures him. “Of all the things that could have stopped us so far, this isn’t going to be it.”

 

Taeyong can’t help himself. He shoots the other man a grin, asking, “Isn’t that supposed to be my line?”

 

“Sorry, Captain.”

 

He says it with such a flirtatious edge that Donghyuck gags, muttering an inaudible comment into Sicheng’s ear.

 

“Something wrong, Donghyuck?” Jaehyun asks, an angel’s smile on his face. “There’s always a second pod you could take by yourself.”

 

Taeyong might be in love.

 

Donghyuck clearly has some choice words on the tip of his tongue, but at that moment a particularly aggressive impact rocks the ship. Even strapped in, Taeyong feels himself move in his seat. He hits the intercom once more but gets only static in return. Again, and still nothing. Either their communications are down, or…

 

“Let me go check on him,” Taeil volunteers, clearly leaning toward the ‘or’.

 

“No, I’ll go,” Yuta says firmly, throwing Taeyong for a loop. He’s so surprised that by the time he starts to protest, Yuta is disappearing back out of the pod with an, “I’ll be right back.”

 

An act of redemption, maybe. An attempt to make past wrongs right. Taeyong wishes Yuta wouldn’t put his life on the line for it, but he understands. He can’t say he wouldn’t do the same.

 

“How long until we should be worried?” Taeil asks when that ‘right back’ stretches on for just too long.

 

Right on cue, the ship begins to shake violently with atmospheric turbulence. They must be getting closer to whatever planet Mark thinks he can set them down on. But without their shields and their structural integrity, things could get ugly. Fast. Sure enough, Taeyong feels them start to tilt far enough where his body pushes against the restraints. Something in the ship’s core is down, something that’s supposed to keep them upright without much effort on the pilot’s part. And judging by the direction of that tilt…

 

“Left engine’s out,” Taeil echoes his thoughts. “Taeyong…”

 

“I know. I’m getting them _now_.” Taeyong reaches for the buckle on his restraints, only to be stopped by a firm hand over his own.

 

“Wait,” Jaehyun tells him. “Give Yuta a bit more time. He would have told us over the intercom if he needed help.”

 

“The intercom that could very well be busted?”

 

“Just thirty more seconds. Please,” Jaehyun asks, the real meaning behind his words clear: trust him. Let him prove himself.

 

So be it. Taeyong gives him the time, though his skin itches with the need to do anything other than sit here and wait for the inevitable. His foot taps on the pod’s floor impatiently. Time expires.

 

 _No more waiting_ is on the tip of his tongue before a shadow appears in the doorway. A slightly worse for wear Yuta stumbles across the shifting floor, holding an unconscious Mark bridal-style in his arms.

 

“Sorry for the delay,” Yuta apologizes, strapping the pilot in before doing the same for himself. “Mark was setting a safe course for our landing before something short-circuited in the cockpit and knocked him out. I made sure we’re not heading straight for any cities, but...at this point, there’s no way to land safely. We’re going to crash.”

 

Even if Taeyong expected as much, that doesn’t make it any better to know they really only have one option left. “ETA?” he prompts.

 

“We’re far enough into the atmosphere. I’d say give it ten more seconds and launch.”

 

Taeyong nods, sparing Mark one last look and one last hope that he’ll be okay. “Helmets on,” he instructs. “This could get dangerous. And someone get Mark ready.”

 

The hiss of seven helmets engaging fills the pod. Taeyong engages the sealing lock, counts down while he sends up a not-quite prayer, and ejects them with one solid button-press.

 

The response is instant. They shoot out from the ship, completely viewless as they zip through the air at a breakneck speed. Taeyong can feel his teeth knocking together, feel the forces push and pull at his body, feel Jaehyun’s hand strain to find his own.

 

Soon that rapidfire turbulence gives way to the sudden jerking movement of the thrusters being engaged to slow their fall. Taeyong knows the impact is coming soon, even though he can’t see how close they are to the ground. He squeezes Jaehyun’s hand painfully tight and closes his eyes, bracing himself.

 

 _Thunk_. The pod bounces off the ground with an impact that knocks the wind from Taeyong’s chest. A series of additional bounces throws his body around within the restraints, disorienting him until he can’t tell which way is up or down.

 

_Almost there. Please, we just have to hold on a bit longer…_

 

The lights flicker out, plunging the interior of the pod into darkness just moments before they come to a stuttering halt. It takes a long moment of fumbling around for Taeyong to find the right button to slide the doors open and let the outside light flood in. His other hand finally lets go of Jaehyun’s.

 

One by one, the crew release their restraints as they regain their bearings, stumbling out of the pod. Donghyuck is the last to leave, supporting a now-conscious Mark as he steps out into the sunlight. The smoking, defunct metal sphere that remains of their escape pod might have been of some interest in other circumstances, but not now. Taeyong’s full attention is on taking a headcount, relieved when he sees everyone is here and in one piece.

 

“Everyone okay?” he asks, just to be sure.

 

He gets a general consensus of nods, and then Mark dazedly asks, “What happened back there?”

 

“A power surge knocked you out,” Jaehyun explains for him. “Yuta put the ship on course and brought you to safety.”

 

It’s pretty clear what Jaehyun’s intentions are from the way he emphasizes the other man’s name. Yuta, for one, looks rather embarrassed to be revealed, but that embarrassment quickly vanishes with Mark’s sincere smile and “thank you”. It clearly means a lot to him to have his efforts acknowledged.

 

“Not to rush us,” Sicheng speaks up, “but the Eclipse pilots will have seen our escape. They’ll be on top of us in minutes.”

 

The gravity of their situation sits heavy on Taeyong’s shoulders. He can’t help the glance he throws up at the sky, but their ship is nowhere in sight. Its journey will finish somewhere they can’t see. Now he needs to focus on getting them out of here alive, wherever ‘here’’ is.

 

“Mark, what planet is this? You had it plugged into the navigation, I’m assuming.”

 

“Oh, I think it was…Kelgar? Wait, no. Krewar. We were passing by and it had a solid surface, so I went for it.”

 

Jaehyun actually laughs, retracting his helmet, and Taeyong follows with a resigned shake of his head.

 

_Of course._

 

“What is it?” Taeil prompts. He sounds like he expects the worst. Considering their track record, that’s pretty fair ━ and not entirely inaccurate.

 

“We’ve heard the name before,” Taeyong explains. “Krewar was one of the first planets to adopt AllyJust, so its criminal records are linked with any other planet that’s part of the agreement.

 

Understanding dawns in Taeil’s eyes. “And when you stole the ship back on Verimund...”

 

“Yeah. AllyJust.”

 

“So that’s Eclipse and the police who both want us dead or rotting in prison forever,” Donghyuck sums up. “Cool. Maybe we should, you know, run?”

 

Taeyong can’t even say anything against his tone, because he’s right. “You heard Donghyuck,” he tells the others. “Let’s move out.”

 

That’s all they need to hear. They tighten the straps of their bags and take off, staying as close as they can without running each other over. The terrain here is mostly plains, wide open and far too exposed, but they find more cover the closer they get to the nearby city. Farmhouses and powerplants on its outskirts are at least better than nothing. When they reach the city gates, however, they’re not quite as lucky.

 

“There’s guards,” Jaehyun tells them. They’ve stopped some distance away, huddling by a derelict speeder and trying to look inconspicuous. It gives them a moment to collect themselves, but it also gives them a good hard look at their next obstacle.

 

 _Think, Taeyong. Think_.

 

“Maybe we have time to wait for a change in rotation?” he suggests, unsure. “Or else we can try to blend in when another group━”

 

A low roar sounds from behind them. “Eclipse ships,” Sicheng says, voice clipped, and Taeyong abandons all thoughts of a plan.

 

“We’re going for it,” he tells them, already moving. “Act casual. They only know about four of us, so Donghyuck, Mark, Sicheng? You all stay at the front and draw their attention away.”

 

There's no time for him to hear if they’ve agreed. They’re already in earshot of the three guards manning the gates. Taeyong holds his breath and tries to keep his head down as they approach.

 

“Any weapons to declare?” one of the men asks in a slow drawl.

 

“Nothing more than a pistol,” Donghyuck assures him. “You can check us if you want.”

 

The man waves it off, giving their guns no more than a cursory glance. The Eclipse ships rumble closer.

 

“Right, then. Head on in. No funny business.”

 

Donghyuck gives him a nod, and they’re ushered through the gates. Taeyong can’t believe this is going to work.

 

And then a line of purple light sweeps over them as they step inside, scanning every visible facial feature and patch of skin. A machine Taeyong hadn’t seen lights up like a Christmas tree before throwing four very familiar faces up on its display.

 

“ _AllyJust System: multiple match. Lee Taeyong, theft, match. Nakamoto Yuta, theft, match._ ”

 

The man is far from nonchalant now. He turns back to them with outrage written across his features, hand reaching for the weapon strapped across his back.

 

“ _Jung Jaehyun, theft, aggravated assault, match_.”

 

“Well, damn,” Jaehyun mutters. Taeyong is about to tell him to save the humor for later, but Jaehyun is already ripping the gun away from the man’s hands to knock it solidly over his head. Donghyuck and Yuta neutralize the other two before they can become a threat.

 

“ _Moon Taeil, theft, match_.”

 

Taeyong does feel bad for that one. He can see just by glancing at Taeil’s face that it stings him, having his name attached to a crime he wanted no part in. Still, this isn’t the time nor the place for a proper apology.

 

“Our faces will be on every building in the city by now,” Yuta warns. “Where are we supposed to━?”

 

“They’re here,” Sicheng interrupts.

 

Coming through the gates are a group of five black-robed figures, striding forward in a precise formation that tells Taeyong engaging them will mean instant death. If they can’t get away, this is what their end will look like.

 

“Run!”

 

Taeyong has never moved this fast in his life. He has a feeling the others haven’t, either. There’s a deep and sudden fear that’s taken over his legs and works to propel him forward as they run deeper into the city. Yuta’s question still sits in the front of his mind: where? Where does this end? Where is their way out? Where can they be safe again? He hates that he was right about doubting their freedom.

 

Building after building flies by, but none of them are right. They don’t just need a place to hide. They need a way out. If Taeil could get another message to Youngho, maybe, or...no, that’s probably their best bet. There’s a cell tower sticking out above some of the buildings, which is where at least some signals should pass through. Donghyuck has already proved he can use something similar for getting a connection; if they can make it all the way there…

 

“If we get separated, meet by the cell tower,” he calls to the rest of the crew. “Ask Youngho for one more favor. Sicheng, how close are they?”

 

“Some of the speeder traffic slowed them down, but they’ll gain on us soon.”

 

Buying themselves seconds isn’t enough. They need more. “Keep an eye out for somewhere we can turn off,” Taeyong says after their next turn. “Staying on the main roads isn’t going to━”

 

“Left!”

 

Taeyong doesn’t think; he moves. Years of trusting his friends’ every word make him heed Yuta’s call before his brain fully registers it. They share a look that says all that needs to be said, and then Taeyong takes in the side alley they’re now turned onto. It’s on the sketchy side, sure, but it’s dark and unassuming. That’s all Taeyong was hoping for. He leads the rest of the crew into a gap between buildings and finally lets them rest.

 

“Okay, can I be honest?” Donghyuck asks, recovering first.

 

Taeyong is absolutely sure he’d continue even with a ‘no’, but he still gives the mercenary a nod. Less headaches this way.

 

“So there’s no way we’re outrunning assassins on foot. I don’t want to be the guy that tells you to steal another ship, but…I’m not saying you shouldn’t.”

 

“Because that’s worked out so well for us before,” Taeil says flatly.

 

“You’re also not dead. Which is kind of a plus, last time I checked.”

 

“Taeyong?” Yuta cuts in before it can become a real argument. “It’s your call. What do we do next?”

 

“I…”

 

 _I know where we need to go, but I have no idea how to get there in one piece. There has to be_ something _, doesn’t there? What am I overlooking?_

 

“Just give me a minute. Let me━ Let me think. I don’t…”

 

Jaehyun takes a step closer to him, concern on his face. “Hey, don’t worry. We’ll...what was that?”

 

The group falls silent as the hum of a speeder sounds down the alley. Taeyong pushes past where the others are standing to poke his head out and take a look, only breathing again when he gets a visual on the ship. A civilian. But that relief is short-lived, because he also sees the robed figures at the alley’s entrance who now know exactly where they’re hiding.

 

“Shit.”

 

“What’s happening? Is it them?”

 

“Can we take them on from here? There’s more of us.”

 

“I think we should start running.”

 

Taeyong doesn’t say anything to the commentary going on behind him. There’s a growing idea that he tries to shake as he looks at that lone speeder, telling himself that the moral implications aren’t worth it ━ especially if things don’t go as planned. But he has his crew to protect and death marching toward them with every second that ticks by.

 

 _I’m sorry_.

 

Taeyong draws his gun, steps out into the alley, and fires. The passenger’s side window of the speeder shatters, the ship coming to a screeching halt.

 

“Taeyong, what the hell?” someone shouts (Yuta, maybe), but Taeyong is already leaning in through the broken glass, pistol trained on the man’s skull.

 

“Get out, release the lock, and no one gets hurt.” His voice sounds like someone else’s, too icy and unfamiliar.

 

“Sir, I don’t want any trouble. I’m just trying to get home to━”

 

“Out, _now_ , or I shoot. Don’t make this difficult.”

 

The fear on the man’s face as he half-steps, half-tumbles out of the vehicle makes Taeyong feel even worse. The second the doors slide open, he’s slipping inside, calling to the others, “Get in!”

 

The assassins are right on top of them. Mark is just cramming himself into the passenger’s seat, half in Jaehyun’s lap, when Taeyong guns it. They shoot out of the alley and just barely miss hitting their pursuers.

 

“You want to explain what happened back there?” Yuta demands from the back.

 

“Not now.”

 

“I think now would be a great time to explain why we’re all of a sudden pointing guns at civilians. Just because we’re wanted by the police doesn’t mean━”

 

“Do I look _happy_ about it?” Taeyong snaps. “Let me drive. I’m still trying, just like I was back there, not to get us killed.”

 

Yuta crosses his arms and glowers, not meeting Taeyong’s eyes in the rearview mirror. Some of the others look distinctly uncomfortable, making their side in this argument very clear. That’s fine. Taeyong kind of hates himself for it, too, so they’re not alone.

 

“I think you can take the next intersection and head East,” Jaehyun interrupts the silence with. “We should be close.”

 

Taeyong nods but doesn’t dare glance Jaehyun’s way. If he sees the same disappointment there that he feels, he doesn’t know if he can keep them on the road.

 

 _Bang_. Something collides with the windshield. Taeyong almost thinks they’ve snagged on some sort of stray fabric before he sees a set of eyes looking at him through the glass and realizes it’s a robe. One of the assassins.

 

“Jaehyun━”

 

“Try to shake her!”

 

The other man has already clambered over Mark and stuck his top half out the window. It’s hard to look at him for too long, avoiding a crash taking much more effort with such an obstructed view, but Taeyong can hear shots being fired. He does his best to twist and turn down the road to help throw the woman off, doubling his efforts when he sees Mark making sure Jaehyun won’t fall out anytime soon. They can do this.

 

Another shot, and the assassin loses her grip. She falls from the windshield and disappears from view. Taeyong’s hands relax a fraction on the controls, glad he doesn’t have to keep flying like a madman, but that doesn’t last long. The end of the road is blockaded with a swarm of ships, guns, and flashing lights. A police barricade.

 

“Everyone stay low and away from the windows,” he says, trying to keep some semblance of calm. Probably too late for that, but it’s worth a shot. It still doesn’t change the fact that they have nowhere to go. Except for maybe one last trick.

 

Taeyong cranks the wheel around as he puts them in reverse, trying to pull off a U-turn before the ships in the barricade can try to flank them. There’s some protest from the rest of the speeder, where there are more people than seatbelts, but it does turn around. They’re coming out of the rotation now. If Taeyong really floors it━

 

They don’t stop turning. A small explosion shakes the back-left engine, sending the speeder straight into a smoking, out of control spin-out. The air is punched out of Taeyong’s lungs as they hit a building, and he’s thrown forward against his seatbelt. When he can see straight again, the first things he makes out are warning lights and the emergency hatch on the roof disengaging. One more chance, it would seem.

 

“Get out and run!” Taeyong shouts, voice already hoarse from the smoke.

 

Most of what happens next is a blur. Later, Taeyong will have a vague recollection of scrambling hands and bodies working to pull their crewmates free of the wreck, trying to grab who he can see and run in the opposite direction of those wailing sirens, catching sight of the assassins who’d destroyed their best chance of escape. It’s less of an escape and more of a mad scramble to safety.

 

Taeyong doesn’t dare stop moving until he’s far from the scene and certain there’s no one breathing down his neck. He hunches over behind one of the trading stalls, hands on his thighs, and tries to catch his breath. When he looks up, Mark and Taeil are joining him in much similar condition. It’s good someone is still here with him.

 

“Did you see where any of the others went?” he asks.

 

Mark shakes his head. “I didn’t see anyone until I ran into you and Taeil. It was crazy back there.”

 

“Yuta _was_ with us,” Taeil adds, “but he must have taken a different turn.”

 

“That’s...fine,” Taeyong tries. “They can take care of themselves, and they know where to go.”

 

He feels like the worst captain in the world, the lowest of the low. What’s worse than leaving crew members behind? Even one would be bad, but this…

 

“We’re not that far from the tower, at least,” Mark says, pointing a few streets over. “It’s a straight shot there.”

 

Or it would have been, if not for the rapidly approaching sirens. Taeil and Mark shrink further behind the stall at the sound. If they make a run for it, the police will be all over them. If they stay here, the assassins will find them in no time and slit their throats. There’s no way they can win. Which is why, with sudden clarity, Taeyong realizes what needs to happen.

 

“Take this,” he tells Mark, slipping the pack off his shoulders. “Keep it safe. I need both of you ready to run the second everyone is distracted. Taeil, will you be able to get a message to Youngho, even if Donghyuck’s not there?”

 

“It’ll take a bit longer, but yeah, I can.”

 

“Good. I’m going to get their attention, draw them off, and circle back around. That should give you enough time to make it there without being seen. Hopefully it will help the others, too.”

 

Mark looks ready to protest, but Taeil puts a firm hand on his shoulder before he can get a word out, giving Taeyong a long look. “Are you sure about this?”

 

“It’s our best chance. And besides, I’m already on a roll with bad decisions today.”

 

There’s more Taeyong wants to say, to apologize for, but if he doesn’t get a move on, he’s going to lose this whole flimsy front of courage he’s built up. It’s now or never.

 

“See you on the other side,” he tells them, and he starts running.

 

It doesn’t take long for Taeyong to catch the eye of their pursuers. He’s on the main road for all of three seconds before he hears the sound of squealing brakes and shouts of “Over here!”

 

Definitely police. Maybe assassins, too. Taeyong doesn’t stop to check. He weaves frantically in and out of traffic, breath coming in short pants as his body finally admits he’s much more afraid than he’s let on to the others. He takes one sidestreet, three, and hopes that this path is narrow enough where anyone chasing him will have to continue on foot.

 

It must be. He can hear more angry yells and boots on pavement. That would be great news, if it weren’t for the barred gate blocking the way.

 

“No, no, _no_.”

 

He grabs the bars and yanks them back and forth, just to see if they’ll give. The gates don’t budge. The shouts are getting louder.

 

 _Don’t panic_ , he tells himself. _It’s just a padlock. I’ve picked plenty of padlocks before, even if I’m rusty at it_.

 

He reaches for where he’s stored away his lockpicks, right in...right in the front pouch of his pack. The pack he handed over to Mark. Damn it all.

 

Time to do things the old-fashioned way, Taeyong supposes. He steps back and fires at the lock, shot echoing down the alley. He made an impact, but not in the right spot. He lines up the shot one more time━

 

“Drop the gun! Hands where I can see them!”

 

Taeyong’s knees nearly buckle. He’d been _so_ close.

 

“Drop the gun, or we are authorized to shoot.”

 

Even with his back to however many officers are on the scene, Taeyong knows not to take the threat lightly. This man will shoot him dead before he can even think about turning around. Slowly, Taeyong squats to set his pistol down before raising his arms above his head in surrender. End of the line.

 

Out of nowhere, a solid weight hits his back, tackling him to the ground. _Assassins_ , Taeyong thinks with a wild sort of fear, but instead, he feels handcuffs being locked around his wrists. At least the police are the ones who got to him first. At least the others might be safe. At least, at least.

 

An officer yanks Taeyong to his feet. Another officer stands in front of him with a stern look on her face, holding out a disk in her palm that flickers to life with a pixelated projection of Taeyong’s mugshot.

 

“ _AllyJust Arrest: Lee Taeyong, confirmed_ ,” a voice says from the projection. “ _You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be used against you in a court of law. Do not resist_.”

 

It feels like a death sentence, but Taeyong will be damned if he lets his eyes well up in front of these strangers. He lets himself go limp as he’s dragged off to whatever fate is in store for him. The fight has left his body.

 

At least, he reminds himself. At least.

 

 

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Saturday update so I can get the epilogue out tomorrow. Finally, our journey is almost at its end.

 

 

 

Ending up in a cell is not something Taeyong had hoped to do again so soon. The officers who’d brought him to the prison had thrown him in immediately, no questions asked and no chance to make up excuses. Not that the latter matters much in the scheme of things; what excuses could Taeyong give? It’s impossible to explain away everything they’ve done. His own reckless decision yesterday was just the cherry on top.

 

The guards keeping an eye on him are frustratingly vague when they talk with each other. They always avoid specifics, leaving Taeyong grasping at straws. But best he can tell, at least some of the others had managed to evade capture. Hopefully that means they’re safe. That hope is the only thing cutting through the hollow emptiness that’s crept into Taeyong’s insides, now that they’ve lost after fighting for so long. Or, at least, he’s lost. It’s a bitter pill to swallow.

 

A door closes down the hall. Taeyong can hear it loud and clear, the way it echoes. He can hear a lot from his cell, actually. One of the apparent benefits of being the only prisoner held in the ‘extended watchlist’ sector.

 

Footsteps pad against concrete until they stop just in front of Taeyong’s cell. He honestly hadn’t been giving whoever it was the time of day until now, but those shoes aren’t part of the guards’ uniforms. Taeyong’s eyes go up and up until he finds a face that makes him ungracefully get to his feet, nearly makes him want to retreat to the back of his cell.

 

“Dongyoung?”

 

“Here we are again.” The barkeep is leaning lazily against the cell door, something like mocking laughter pulling at one corner of his lips. “What mess did you manage to get into this time?”

 

“There is literally no way you’re here right now.”

 

“There’s ‘literally no way’ you should have gotten caught on Krewar, of all places, but here we are.”

 

This must be a dream. What part of Taeyong’s subconscious thought that thinking up Dongyoung would be funny?

 

“Alright, the small talk was fun, but I do have a limited window that I can be here,” Dongyoung says. “So if you’re ready to hear the plan…”

 

And for whatever reason, the first thing that pops out of Taeyong’s mouth is, “Shouldn’t you be back at the tavern? How is the place supposed to run without a barkeep?”

 

Dongyoung actually snorts, which is well-deserved. “Jungwoo’s covering for me for a few days, but thanks for your concern. Really, it’s touching.”

 

There’s a lot of things Taeyong would like to say, but he’d rather not piss off his apparent rescuer. It seems wiser to say nothing at all.

 

“Can got your tongue? That’s too bad.” Dongyoung takes a quick glance at the watch around his wrist and grimaces in distaste. “Anyway, like I was saying, I’ve been sent to get you out. Youngho couldn’t come himself, so you get me, which I know you’re thrilled about.”

 

“Youngho? So the others were able to contact him? Are they safe? Where are━?”

 

“One question at a time. Yeah, they got a message over, and Youngho brought your whole little dream team somewhere safe. AllyJust won’t follow them there, at least for now.”

 

“And the assassins?”

 

“They’re under the impression you were all brought in to the prison, which means they’re done chasing you. Eclipse equates a life in a prison to fulfillment of a contract.”

 

A life in...that can’t be right.

 

“I’m getting a life sentence for stealing one ship?”

 

Dongyoung looks at him like he’s an imbecile. “Really? You don’t think there were cameras to catch your little holdup and near-homicide yesterday?”

 

“I wasn’t actually going to shoot him!”

 

“Try explaining that to the police after you led them on a city-wide chase and caused extensive damage to public property. Oh, and after you take the blame for every human and alien your crew has managed to collectively rile up over the past few weeks.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“It’s all part of the plan, which I keep _trying_ to explain,” Dongyoung says pointedly. “Pay attention, because I won’t repeat myself. In three days at your trial, you’re going to plead guilty, taking the blame for your entire crew’s crimes. They’re already gathering all the evidence they can against you, so there should be a lot of it. The judge will sentence you to either death or life behind bars, which you’ll regretfully accept, too burdened with the guilt of everything you’ve done.”

 

“You’re enjoying this way too much,” Taeyong says, unamused.

 

“Oh, just wait. It gets better. Whatever the sentence, you’re going to ‘mysteriously die’ in your jail cell and take all of that guilt to your grave. I’ll handle it from there.”

 

Mysteriously die. Taeyong almost asks if Dongyoung’s serious, but that’s a stupid question. Of course he is. The thought of it probably got the other man out of bed this morning.

 

“And if I do this,” Taeyong asks, “the others will be free to go? No one will come after them?”

 

“Not the police or Eclipse. I think Taeil still has some angry shopkeepers on his tail, but I’ll help him out with that.”

 

“That’s...surprisingly nice of you.”

 

Dongyoung shrugs it off. “I have my moments. Also Youngho told me to, so I have no choice.”

 

Taeyong has a hunch that isn’t entirely true. Insufferable as the other man is, Taeyong still remembers the look on his face when Donghyuck was injured, how quickly he’d gotten in touch with a healer. There’s a heart hiding behind that prickly exterior.

 

“Okay then, I’ll do it,” Taeyong agrees. “It doesn’t seem like I have a better option.”

 

“Well aren’t you just full of warm and fuzzies today.” Dongyoung straightens up, giving his watch one more glance. “Right on time, too. As always, it’s been a pleasure. I’d offer you free drinks the next time I see you at the tavern, but that would be completely out of character.”

 

“Wow, I really appreciate it.”

 

“You’re welcome.” Dongyoung turns to leave without any other formalities, throwing one last “See you when you’re dead!” over his shoulder before he disappears.

 

Great. Taeyong sits back down on his cell’s bench somehow more exhausted than he was before the conversation. He really, really hopes going along with this plan isn’t a mistake.

 

☾

 

Sure enough, in three days’ time, Taeyong is pulled into a trial. He does his best to make it look convincing as he breaks down on the stand, confessing to the list of charges and apologizing for his actions. The guilt must be convincing, because he’s sentenced to life in prison instead of immediate death. Only the tenuous trust he has in Dongyoung keeps Taeyong from thinking that he got the short end of the stick.

 

That trust doesn’t have to weather much time. Not an hour passes after Taeyong is brought back to his cell before the next stage of the plan makes itself clear. A sharp pain blooms in Taeyong’s neck as he’s beginning to drift off to sleep. His hands immediately fly to the spot, brushing against a dart no longer than his pinky finger. He almost laughs, realizing at least part of how Dongyoung plans to ‘kill’ him, but his limbs are already going numb. Taeyong makes out the blurry silhouette of someone standing outside his cell before his world fades to black.

 

☾

 

Thankfully, Taeyong does wake up again. His eyes slowly open to a dimly-lit room, candlelight giving everything a hazy edge. Where is he? The room is small, not much bigger than the bed he’s occupying, but it’s unfamiliar to him. A rhythmic scraping sounds from somewhere nearby. If his limbs would stop feeling like lead weights━

 

“Youngho, he’s awake.”

 

The scraping halts. Taeyong summons the energy to turn his head and makes out one of Youngho’s crew members ━Jeno, if he remembers correctly━ sitting against the wall. He’d said Youngho’s name, hadn’t he? Does that mean he’s here?

 

Not a moment later, all six feet of pirate captain is pulling up a stool next to Taeyong’s bedside, looking at him intently. “Welcome back to the land of the living. How are you feeling?”

 

“Okay, I think,” Taeyong says slowly. “It’s just really hard to move.”

 

“Aftereffects of the poison, unfortunately. Jeno, is my second batch of the antidote ready?”

 

“Looks like it.”

 

“Bring it here.” A pause. “Thanks. Okay, Taeyong, just a few more sips of this and you’ll feel much more like yourself again.”

 

Youngho doesn’t pass the cup over. He holds it out expectantly, like he’s waiting for Taeyong to drink it from Youngho’s hands instead. He can’t actually…? No, judging by how Taeyong can’t move his arms, this is a very calculated move. Taeyong wills down some of his embarrassment and lets Youngho tilt the cup against his lips. He doesn’t even spit out the concoction over both of them when the acrid taste hits his tongue, only recoiling slightly.

 

“Sorry about that,” Youngho apologizes. “It’s as nasty as it is effective, but it does work quickly. Better already?”

 

Taeyong feels strength flowing back through his body. He lifts a leg just to see if he can, and is pleasantly surprised when it decides to budge this time. His short time as a human ragdoll was not a pleasant one.

 

“Much. I really appreciate it.”

 

“No worries. It’s not the first time I’ve done this.” At Taeyong’s expression, he smiles. “I know, I know, you want the details. That dart Dongyoung hit you with brought your heartbeat down so low that the police thought you were dead ━ figured one of your enemies had finished you off after the sentencing. Jeno dug you out of the dumpster when they threw you out with the trash, and now you’re here. Worked like a charm.”

 

Every emotion Taeyong has been trying to feel for the past week hits him like a train. No more of that nagging itch and confusion that had come after Zadra’s demise, no more of that awful emptiness that had come after his capture. He feels relieved beyond measure, and just as grateful to the person who had finally brought this to a close.

 

“Thank you,” Taeyong tells Youngho earnestly. “For pulling the others out and for sending someone to get me, too. I don’t know how to ever repay you.”

 

Youngho shakes his head. “I had a long talk with Taeil. This isn’t a formal favor; I’m not going to make you give me anything in return. Just...a request, I guess. Would you be okay with me asking Mark to join my crew?”

 

“...What?”

 

“I didn’t do right by him the last time I tried to help. It wasn’t my intention to get him trapped in that racing ring, but it was still my fault. If he’ll give me a second chance, I’d like him on my crew.”

 

That’s right. Taeyong had almost forgotten that his own crew isn’t really a crew anymore. They were bound together by circumstances, but those circumstances are no longer in play. It feels so strange to think of them as anything different now.

 

“Mark’s not technically under my command anymore, now that this is all over,” Taeyong reluctantly admits. “You don’t need my permission to ask him.”

 

“No, but it’s obvious that he looks up to you. It would mean a lot to him if you’re okay with it.”

 

That hits Taeyong straight in the chest. He feels emotional, suddenly, and he can’t put a finger on exactly why.

 

“You can ask him,” he says, voice stretched thin. “But just know that you’ll have to bring Donghyuck aboard, too, if he agrees. They’re a package deal at this point.”

 

“I can live with that.”

 

“And you’ll keep them safe?”

 

“Absolutely.” Youngho has gone completely serious, all traces of a smile vanished. “Most of my crew are kids I’ve rescued ━ or were those kids and have now grown up. I take my job protecting them very seriously. You don’t have to worry about that.”

 

“Okay...good.”

 

Taeyong doesn’t know how much more he can say on that subject without breaking, so he doesn’t continue. But he does hear Youngho’s words from earlier like an echo, “ _he looks up to you_ ,” and it suddenly hits him why the tangle of guilt in his stomach has grown in size.

 

“Youngho…” he starts, then hesitates. He probably doesn’t know the other man well enough to unload his feelings onto him. But there’s something about Youngho’s intent gaze and amiable nature that makes Taeyong want to open up.

 

“I did things I’m not proud of,” he admits. “It feels like I let everyone down, including myself. There’s a part of me that thinks I deserved that jail sentence, as much as I hated the thought of it.”

 

Youngho rests his chin on one hand, contemplative. “It’s never too late to turn things around, you know,” he says. “Sometimes it’s good to take a step back and reevaluate your personal code. Which actually leads me to the final part of the plan.”

 

“There’s more?”

 

“Unfortunately, I can’t just send you back out into the world after faking your death, especially with a sentence like yours. You’ll need to stay in hiding for a while so you can fade into anonymity, and then I can arrange for fake identification. I’m talking a couple of years.”

 

It makes sense. It stings, but it still makes sense.

 

“Where am I hiding?”

 

“A farming planet in one of the outer systems. There’s a hut ready for you, and you’ll be working the land with a few other farmers in the coalition. Nothing glamorous, but from what I’ve heard, the planet is supposed to be beautiful.”

 

At least it sounds peaceful. Taeyong can’t help but think about how two years is such a long time...everything will be different. But a second chance is better than no chance at all. And what Youngho had said, about taking a step back? Maybe this will be good for him. Still, it’s a lot to take in. Taeyong thinks Youngho’s calm is the only thing keeping him from losing it.

 

“And the others,” Taeyong checks, “they’re safe for good? Cleared of everything?”

 

“Everything. You have my word.”

 

A loud series of knocks suddenly sounds on the door, making Taeyong jump.

 

“Youngho…” Jeno starts warily, and the other man lets out a sigh.

 

“Some people really are impatient, aren’t they? I was getting to that, but might as well let them in now. Go see how Jaemin’s coming along with the shuttle.”

 

Jeno hits a button. A wave of chaos crashes into the room. Taeyong is pulled out from beneath the covers and into a sea of hugs and “You’re alive!”s and “Donghyuck, please don’t break him”s, making his heart swell with a joy that’s so poignant it almost hurts. These are his friends, his crew. There’s no one he’d rather be with right now.

 

“I kept your things safe for you!” Mark says when the initial clamor dies down, passing a familiar bag into Taeyong’s hands. “Just like you asked.”

 

“Thank you,” Taeyong starts. He’s going to say more, but Yuta is already chiming in.

 

“He hasn’t let go of that since we got here. I think he really missed you.”

 

“Says the one who didn’t stop crying and worrying about him until Youngho told us he was here,” Donghyuck says dryly.

 

“Well, Donghyuck, let me go find you another bus so you can throw me under that one, too.”

 

It’s almost surreal to see those three getting along. Was this the secret? For them to be away from Taeyong and stuck with each other for days on end?

 

Taeyong’s confusion must show, because Donghyuck says, “It’s been a weird couple of days, Cap. We got stressed out from sitting around doing nothing, so that turned into a lot of emotional team bonding, which turned into all of us planning our futures after we get off Youngho’s ship. Taeil’s going to take over the galaxy━”

 

“I’m going to expand my business, Donghyuck.”

 

“Same difference. Sicheng’s going on an extended trip to quote-unquote find himself, and Mark and I are probably going to go set a record for ‘most different planets someone has eaten desserts on’ to start with.”

 

Or those plans might change very soon, Taeyong knows. He feels less sad about it, now that he’s seen everyone in person. They all deserve to do what makes them happy. But hold on a second; this isn’t everyone. Where’s…?

 

“Aren’t you forgetting someone?”

 

Taeyong looks up to see just the man he was looking for leaning against the open door frame. His first emotion is unadulterated joy, but then he sees the packed bags by Jaehyun’s feet and realizes what’s going on. The others step back to give them space, knowing looks on their faces, and Taeyong’s eyes start to water as the emotion of it all finally becomes too much.

 

Jaehyun steps forward to hold him in a heartbeat. Taeyong can’t even find it in himself to feel awkward in front of everyone else, too overwhelmed. “You don’t have to do this for me,” he insists.

 

At that, Jaehyun pulls back, giving Taeyong a meaningful look as he reaches out to wipe the wetness from under his eyes. “Complain all you want,” he says. “But like it or not, I’d never leave you behind.”

 

It walks the line between horribly cheesy and horribly romantic. Jaehyun knows it too, if the laughter in his eyes says anything. Taeyong falls for the words hook, line, and sinker. When he turns back to the others, they look nearly as happy for him as he feels.

 

“This isn’t the last time we’ll see each other,” he says, like a promise. “It might be three years from now or it might be ten, but we’ll meet again. I couldn’t have asked for a better crew. Thank you all.”

 

Taeyong looks down at the line, at Taeil, Yuta, Sicheng, Donghyuck, and Mark. He wants to remember this moment forever. He wants their faces embedded so clearly in his memory that they’ll be impossible to forget. And even if the faces themselves do fade, the memories too, he knows he’ll still have this peaceful feeling left in his heart.

 

“I’m ready,” he tells Youngho, really meaning it. “Or, I guess, we’re ready.”

 

When they take off into the stars, Jaehyun’s hand is warm in Taeyong’s own.

 

 

 

 


	12. Epilogue

 

 

 

**_2 Years Later…_ **

 

 

Yuta doesn’t know if he’s ever had this much grease coating his fingers. It’s black and sticky on his skin, making it even more difficult to tighten this last bolt in place than it already was. He probably should be used to it by now, after having worked as a mechanic for nearly two years, but it still never ceases to annoy him.

 

One more twist of the wrench, and the bolt pops into place. Yuta would do a victory dance if not for the good chance that he’d slam his head into the ship’s underside. The three-day repair project is finally complete.

 

 _I’m just too good_ , he thinks, sliding out from the work area and finally wiping off his poor hands. Yukhei seems to have already clocked off for today, safe for now from any gloating, but that doesn’t mean Yuta is going to let his victory go overlooked today (or tomorrow, when he’ll make it very clear to his fellow mechanic that yes, he’d been right about the back wing being the problem. He can already hear Yukhei reluctantly congratulating him.)

 

Speaking of clocking out, it seems like a good time for Yuta to do the same. He locks up the back garage and heads to the breakroom to pick up the crate of extra scrap metal he’d gathered together.

 

The breakroom is also the one place in the building that has a mirror mounted on the wall. Something makes Yuta pause in front of it today, eyes sweeping down his reflection and the scars that mar his skin. He still gets look for them, occasionally. It bothers him some days more than others. But in a way, he likes the reminder of the man he doesn’t want to be. He’s so much more than that now.

 

 _And apparently, much too deep this afternoon_ , he thinks, giving his reflection a judging shake of his head.

 

Yuta’s in an introspective mood now, though. When he finishes locking up and starts his walk home, whistling an aimless tune, he makes an extra effort to appreciate it all: the breeze, the quiet, the freedom to walk down the street without having to worry about being arrested or attacked. Things have definitely changed for the better.

 

The lights in Yuta’s house are already on when it comes into view. That’s a good sign. He has a meeting planned for today, which may explain why his thoughts have turned so nostalgic. Mark and Donghyuck’s visits every few months sometimes have a way of doing that to him. With some readjustment, Yuta manages to move the crate he’s carrying to one arm and use his free hand to unlock the front door. He definitely doesn’t nearly drop it or nearly trip over the threshold. Not at all.

 

“You’re finally back!” Donghyuck jumps up from where he’d been lounging on the couch, coming to take the crate from Yuta’s hands. “The usual mix?”

 

“Good to see you, too. The usual, with bigger pieces after you asked last time.”

 

Donghyuck gives him a grin that’s all teeth. “I already know you missed me, so I skipped past that part. It gets boring to always hear about how lonely you are without me here.”

 

“Why do I let you stay in my house again?”

 

“Because I’m both charming and adorable. Duh.” Donghyuck freezes like he’s just remembered something. “That’s right. Also, because I have this.” He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a scrap of paper, unfolding it to reveal a series of diagrams and scribbles.

 

“Blueprints?” Yuta guesses, squinting at the writing.

 

“A design for improved engine efficiency in newer-gen speeders. Kind of specific, but it seemed interesting. Maybe it’ll be helpful.”

 

“Thanks, Donghyuck.” This _does_ look interesting. Next week is going to be a week full of interesting experiments. “How are things going with Youngho? Still good?”

 

“The best. Like, I can’t even be snarky about it. Last week we were defending these villages from some wannabe dictator, and Youngho finally let me lead my own squad. We kicked _ass_ , Yuta, you should have seen us.”

 

“Pretty soon you’ll be taking Youngho’s place.”

 

“That’s the plan.” Donghyuck waggles his eyebrows dramatically before conceding, “Kidding. He’s awesome. But it’s nice to show off.” His eyes suddenly go wide. “Oh, I remember what else I was going to tell you. I saw Sicheng!”

 

Now that’s news. Yuta doesn’t think anyone has heard from him since he dropped off the grid.

 

“Where? How was he?”

 

“Just at some refueling station, completely by accident. He has a ship and a co-pilot now. Mark and I didn't talk to him for too long, but he seemed happy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile _twice_ in one conversation.”

 

“Good for him,” Yuta says sincerely. “And speaking of Mark…”

 

“Well it’s about time. I’m letting him now you went a whole three minutes without asking. I’ll send him the signal, and…” Donghyuck hits a button on his commlink. “There. He’s on his way.”

 

Yuta has a sneaking feeling he’s in the middle of some Donghyuck-orchestrated setup.

 

“Why are you always like this?”

 

“My flair for the dramatic keeps your life interesting. Don’t question it. Mark should be touching down just about…” An approaching rumble starts to shake the windows. “Now. Let’s go.”

 

It’s always best to just play along. Yuta follows Donghyuck out the back door just in time to see Mark setting the ship down a safe distance away in his backyard. There doesn’t seem to be anything out of the━ wait. Hold on a second.

 

“That ship...there’s no way.”

 

“The look on your face is priceless, but hold that thought.” Donghyuck cups his hands around his mouth and shouts, “MARK!”

 

In seconds, the ship’s door slides open to reveal a familiar pilot, who rushes down the landing ramp and across the yard, calling, “I’m coming!”

 

It’s always good to see Mark. Yuta is forever grateful that they’ve made their peace, because the younger man always has a way of brightening up Yuta’s day. Really, he has that effect on most everyone, intentional or otherwise.

 

But right now, it’s hard to concentrate on Mark at all. Yuta is still gaping at the eerily familiar ship in front of him, wondering how this is even remotely possible.

 

“It’s not quite the original, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Donghyuck says. “Mark and I had been searching for the wreck back on Krewar whenever Youngho gave us time off.”

 

“We gathered everything we could still use and worked on putting it together again,” Mark continues. “Youngho and the rest of the crew helped out a lot. Otherwise it would have taken forever. It’s not an exact copy, but it’s close.”

 

“You can say that again,” Yuta mutters, unable to take his eyes off of it. “If the inside looks half as good as the outside...damn. The two of you are incredible.”

 

Mark beams. Donghyuck puffs up his chest. Yuta’s about to ask them more about the project when an incoming call pops up on his commlink ━ from Taeil, no less. He answers and puts the other man on video call.

 

“Hey, what’s up?”

 

“ _Hi, Yuta. Mark, Donghyuck, good to see you, too._ ”

 

“You look exhausted,” Yuta can’t help but point out. “Running one of the most successful security chains in the galaxy been taking a toll on you, old man?”

 

“ _Very funny. Just...be ready for some excitement, and possibly some headaches. That’s all the warning I’m going to give you_.”

 

He cuts the call without a proper goodbye, leaving the group in stunned silence.

 

“What was that all about?” Mark asks, echoing their collective confusion.

 

“I have no idea. Taeil normally doesn’t━”

 

 _Ding-dong_. The faint sound of the doorbell sounds from inside the open back door. Mark and Donghyuck follow Yuta back inside the house and to the front entrance, where Yuta hesitates for a brief moment. He’s admittedly wary about the ‘excitement’ Taeil mentioned. But worst case, he supposes he does have backup.

 

Whatever Yuta had been expecting isn’t what he finds. His jaw drops when he sees the two men standing on the front steps. They’re a bit thinner now, a bit more sun-kissed, but their faces are unmistakable.

 

“So,” Jaehyun says, smile as lopsided as Yuta remembers, “Taeyong and I might be a few credits short on one too many loans. Care to give us a hand?”

 

Taeyong punches Jaehyun in the arm, laughing softly. “He’s kidding. That was only our cover story so that we could see the look on Taeil’s━”

 

Yuta has his arms around both of them even before Taeyong is finished. He doesn’t need to hear their stories right now, doesn’t need any of this explained. That’s not what’s important.

 

“I missed you,” he admits, voice small.

 

“We missed you, too,” Taeyong tells him, fingers coming to gently rest against Yuta’s nape. “But no more of that. It’s really over this time.”

 

 _It’s over_ , Yuta’s heart practically sings. _It’s over_.

 

They’re home.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we've finally made it! Thank you so much to anyone who left kudos or comments along the way. I'll be back before you know it with more NCT goodness.


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